Phalaenopsis Blume,
Bijdr. (1825) 294
Monopodial epiphytes, some continental Asian species leafless in the dry season. Stem very short. Leaves few, sheathing at the base, distichous, often broad, glabrous, deciduous, duplicate, leathery. Inflorescence lateral from the stem, a raceme or a panicle. Flowers often appearing in succession, small to large, resupinate, often showy. Sepals free. Petals free, sometimes similar to the dorsal sepal, but often distinctly broader or narrower. Lip with (Kingidium) or without spur, not mobile, distinctly lobed, with a bilobed or fringed callus at the base of the mid-lobe and often with a forked callus between the lateral lobes, the lateral lobes in addition with a simple callus on their lower half. Column-foot well-developed. Pollinia 2, incompletely cleft, or rarely 4, solid, caudicles absent, stipe present, viscidium present.
Distribution
Tropical continental Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia; about 45 species.
Distribution in the Philippines
Batanes, Babuyanes, Luzon (Ilocos Norte, Kalinga-Apayao, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Cagayan, Isabela, Sierra Madre Mts., Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Tayabas, Batangas, Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon), Polillo, Marinduque, Biliran, Mindoro, Palawan, Balabac, Lumbucan, Bancalan, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Camiguin, Mindanao (Zamboanga, Lanao, Misamis, Bukidnon, Surigao, Agusan, Davao, Cotabato), Sulu, Tawi-Tawi; 21 species
Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland and hill forest, often in shady positions.
Notes
One of the most popular orchid genera, extensively used in hybridisation. Most species are now very rare in the wild, due to unscrupulous collecting and habitat destruction. Following Christenson (2001), we include Doritis and Kingidium in Phalaenopsis.