''Grammatophyllum'', sometimes abbreviated in horticultural trade as Gram, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of 13 currently known

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. The name is derived from the Greek words 'gramma' (a line or streak or mark) and 'phyllon' (leaf), referring to the parallel leaf veins or the markings of the perianth.A Manual or Orchidaceous Plants Cultivated under Glass, Part IX This

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

genus occurs in dense

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

from Indo-China, to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, and the Southwest Pacific islands.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The species produce several

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s, arising from the base of the

pseudobulb In botany, a pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed ''heter ...

, with many yellow-green to olive-green, waxy

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s with dark purplish-red marks. The pseudobulbs are enveloped by sheaths. These are medium-sized to very large orchids, including the giant orchid ('' Grammatophyllum speciosum''), believed to be the largest orchid species in existence. Its

s can grow to a length of 2.5 m. Plants can develop into gigantic clusters weighing from several hundred kilograms to one ton. The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s form spectacular bundles. The more modest

bell orchid ''Grammatophyllum scriptum'' is a species of orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan ...

(''Grammatophyllum scriptum'') is another well-known species, with pseudobulbs of 20 cm, from which originate 3 to 4 stout

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

with a length of 1 m. '' Grammatophyllum multiflorum'' is one of the longest-blooming orchids in existence: it can be in bloom for nine months. See also '' Dendrobium cuthbertsonii'', whose flowers have been reported to last up to ten months each. ''Grammatophyllum'' 'Tiger's paw' is a hybrid from ''G. elegans'' and ''G. fenzlianum''.

Species

# '' Grammatophyllum elegans'' (Fiji and Philippines). # '' Grammatophyllum kinabaluense'' (Sabah). # '' Grammatophyllum martae'' (Philippines ) # '' Grammatophyllum measuresianum'' (Philippines, Borneo) # '' Grammatophyllum multiflorum'' (Philippines) # '' Grammatophyllum pantherinum'' (Borneo, Maluku, Philippines, New Guinea, Solomons, Bismarcks) # '' Grammatophyllum ravanii'' (Philippines) # '' Grammatophyllum rumphianum'' (Borneo, Maluku). # '' Grammatophyllum schmidtianum'' (Marianas). # '' Grammatophyllum scriptum'' : Bell orchid (Malaysia to SW. Pacific). # '' Grammatophyllum speciosum'' : Giant orchid, tiger orchid, Queen of Orchids (Indo-China to Solomon Is.) - type species # '' Grammatophyllum stapeliiflorum'' (Malaysia, Philippines to New Guinea). # '' Grammatophyllum wallisii'' (Philippines )

References

External links

Photos of ''Grammatophyllum stapeliaeflorum''
{{Authority control Cymbidieae genera