Phalaenopsis
| Phalaenopsis | |
|---|---|
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| Closeup of a Phalaenopsis flower | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Tribe: | Vandeae |
| Subtribe: | Aeridinae |
| Alliance: |
Phalaenopsis Blume |
| Genus: |
Phalaenopsis Blume 1825 |
| Type species | |
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Phalaenopsis amabilis Blume (1825) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Phalaenopsis /ˌfælᵻˈnɒpsɪs/ Blume (1825), known as moth orchids, abbreviated Phal in the horticultural trade, is an orchid genus of approximately 60 species. Phalaenopsis is one of the most popular orchids in the trade, through the development of many artificial hybrids. It is native to southern China, Taiwan, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.), New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Queensland.
The generic name from Greek means φαλαινα "Phalaen[a]-like" and is probably a reference to the genus Phalaena, the name given by Carl Linnaeus to a group of large moths; the flowers of some species supposedly resemble moths in flight. For this reason, the species are sometimes called moth orchids.
They are native throughout southeast Asia from the Himalayan mountains to the islands of Polillo, Palawan and Zamboanga del Norte in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines and northern Australia. Orchid Island of Taiwan is named after this genus. Little recent information about their habitat and their ecology in nature is available since little field research has been done in the last decades.
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Wikipedia