Site Overview

Phalaenopsis orchids are native to a region that includes large parts of south-eastern Asia and northern Australia. They can be found in the wild from the Himalayan Mountains to the Philippines, and we still know far too little about the proper orchid flower care for these orchids despite that fact that they have been appreciated by man since ancient days. They are however far more extensively known than many other orchid genera and Phalaenopsis orchids were for instance among the first tropical orchids to be brought to Europe. If you want to provide your orchid with proper Phalaenopsis orchid care, it is important to find out which species it belongs to or which species it can trace its ancestry back to. The genus Phalaenopsis currently contains around 60 different species, and there is also a vast array of hybrids. Some of these hybrids are actually not man made; they are natural hybrids. The first recognized Phalaenopsis hybrid was the Pillipinian Star of Leyte; Phalaenopsis × intermedia (P. aphrodite × P. equestris. Phalaenopsis aphrodite is found from south-eastern Taiwan to the Philippines and is commonly divided into two subspecies: the Taiwanese Phalaenopsis aphrodite subsp. Formosana and the Philippine Phalaenopsis aphrodite subsp. aphrodite. Phalaenopsis equestris is native to the same region and the inflorescence of this species can produce up to 15 flowers. Each flower is roughly 25 mm in diameter.