Phalaenopsis gigantea

Phalaenopsis gigantea

Flower of Phalaenopsis gigantea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Genus:	Phalaenopsis
Species:	P. gigantea
Binomial name
*Phalaenopsis gigantea* J.J.Sm.
Synonyms
Polychilos gigantea (J.J.Sm.) Shim Phalaenopsis gigantea var. decolorata Braem ex Holle-De Raeve Phalaenopsis gigantea var. aurea Christenson Phalaenopsis gigantea f. decolorata (Braem ex Holle-De Raeve) Christenson

Phalaenopsis gigantea is named for the giant size of its leaves, which can grown over 2 feet in length on a mature plant. This orchid is endemic to Borneo and was first described in 1909. It is the largest Phalaenopsis species. ^[1]

Species Description

Phalaenopsis gigantea seedling

Phalaenopsis gigantea inflorescence

A very short monopodial stem with 5-6 large silvery-green pendent leaves that can measure over 60 cm across
flowers are ~5 cm across (up to 6.5 cm), cream background with raised red-brown spots, and varying degrees of green around the column, waxy
Mature, specimen-size plants are capable of producing hundreds of flowers on pendent, branching inflorescences reaching 40 centimeters
blooms have sweetly fragrant citrus scent
flowers can last many months
inflorescence can rebloom over many seasons ^[2]
Although widespread belief that this orchid takes anywhere from 8 to 12 years for a seedling to reach flowering size, it may be possible to flower seedlings in 4 years with ideal culture ^[3]

Species variants

Phal. gigantea var aurea: has a brighter yellow background color throughout the sepals and petals ^[1]

Growing Conditions

warm to hot growing orchid^[2]
although not difficult to grow, (gigantea) seedlings take significantly longer to reach maturity than other species
particularly susceptible to rot if water gets trapped between the leaves
allow potting media to dry out completely between watering
Phal. gigantea needs its entire root system to keep the large leaves hydrated, so as a result is very sensitive to getting its roots disrupted
prefers higher light than most phalaenopsis^[1]

References

1 2 3 Peter Lin, Phalaenopsis Gigantea: Giant of the Genus IPA Journal - Phalaenopsis - Winter 2003 issue
1 2 IOSPE
↑ Phalaenopsis gigantea (J.J.Smith 1909) Accessed 10/15/2012

External links

Media related to Phalaenopsis gigantea at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Phalaenopsis gigantea at Wikispecies

Phalaenopsis

General information	Genus overview

Species	P. amabilis P. aphrodite P. bastianii P. bellina P. braceana P. cornu-cervi P. deliciosa P. equestris P. fasciata P. fuscata P. gigantea P. hainanensis P. hieroglyphica P. kunstleri P. lindenii P. lobbii P. lowii P. lueddemanniana P. mannii P. mariae P. micholitzii P. pallens P. parishii P. philippinensis P. pulcherrima P. pulchra P. reichenbachiana P. sanderiana P. schilleriana P. speciosa P. stuartiana P. sumatrana P. tetraspis P. violacea

Natural hybrids	P. × amphitrite P. × gersenii P. × intermedia P. × leucorrhoda P. × rolfeana P. × singuliflora P. × valentinii P. × veitchiana

Hybrids and Cultivars	P. Harriettiae P. 'Kaleidoscope'

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 11, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.