''Phalaenopsis equestris'' is a flowering
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
of the
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 ...
genus ''
Phalaenopsis
''Phalaenopsis'' (), also known as moth orchids, is a genus of about seventy species of plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are monopodial epiphytes or lithophytes with long, coarse roots, short, leafy stems and long-lastin ...
'' and native to
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 ...
and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. The
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
has 10 to 20 flowers of about 25 mm (1 in) diameter.
["Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p. 658-659. Könemann, 2004. ]
''Phaleonopsis equestris'' plays an important role in the development of novelty species and it is frequently used to cross with other hybrids. It has become an important commodity in the international floral trade.
This species is highly variable in morphology as well in the color of its flowers. The following forms occur :
Ching-Yan Tang† and Wen-Huei Chen, "Breeding an development of new varietiesd in Phalaenopsis" Orchid biotechnology. World Scientific, Singapore, 2007
/ref>
*''Phalaenopsis equestris'' var. ''alba'' — a pure white form; lacking yellow pigments on the callus.
*''Phalaenopsis equestris'' var. ''aurea'' — white flowers with a solid yellow lip.
*''Phalaenopsis equestris'' var. ''rosea''— flowers with even red petals and sepals; color of the mid-lobe of the lip varies from deep red to light red.
*''Phalaenopsis equestris'' var. ''leucaspis'' — small flowers with white edges on pink petals and sepals; mid-lobe of the lip is purple or orange in color with white or yellow callus.
The different colors on the lip are obtained through a different expression of both anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...
s and carotenoid
Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
s.
References
External links
*
*
Orchids of the Philippines
Orchids of Taiwan
equestris
Plants described in 1843
{{Phalaenopsis-stub