Phalaenopsis pulcherrima [Lindley] J.J.Smith 1933 SUBGENUS Parishianae [Sweet} Christenson SECTION Esmeralda Rchb.f
Photo by © Eric Hunt
Photo by Jesus Cid
Photo by © Eric Hunt
LATE
THROUGH 
Common Name The Beautiful Doritis - In Thailand - Ya Dawk Hin - Ma Wing - In China Wu Chun Lan
Flower Size 1/2 to 1.2" [1.25 to 3 cm]
Found in the Chinese Himalayas, Assam India, Myanamar, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Yunnan China, Vietnam, Borneo and Sumatra in evergreen, lowland forests along canyons of montane streams and rivers on rocks and in sandy soils as a small sized, hot to warm growing, clump forming, lithophytic or terrestrial orchid at elevations of 50 to 600 meters with a short, leafy stem, carrying oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, obtuse to subacute leaves that blooms in the summer and fall on a simple, erect to 40" [100 cm] tall, successively to 10, many flowered inflorescence
Occuring in all of Southeast Asia and requires bright light, even watering and fertilizer through out the year.
Synonyms Doritis pulcherrima Lindley 1832; Doritis pulcherrima f. alba O.Gruss & Roeth 1999; Doritis pulcherrima f. albiflora (Rchb.f.) Roeth & O.Gruss 1999; Doritis pulcherrima f. apiculata Aver. 2009; Doritis pulcherrima f. caerulea (Fowlie) O.Gruss & Roeth 1999; Doritis pulcherrima f. nivea Aver. 2009; Doritis pulcherrima f. purpurea Aver. 2009; Doritis pulcherrima var. caerulea Fowlie 1969; Doritis pulcherrima var. apiculata Aver. 2009; Doritis pulcherrima var. laotica O.Gruss 2009; Phalaenopsis antennifera Rchb.f 1879; Phalaenopsis buyssoniana Rchb. f. 1888; Phalaenopsis esmeralda Rchb.f 1874; Phalaenopsis esmeralda var. albiflora Rchb.f. 1877; Phalaenopsis esmeralda var. candidula Rolfe 1890; Phalaenopsis esmeralda var. punctulata Cogn. 1904; Phalaenopsis esmeralda var rubra Hort. ex Stein 1892; Phalaenopsis mastersii King & Pantl. 1897; Phalaenopsis pulcherrima [Lindley] J.J.Smith 1933; Phalaenopsis pulcherrima f. alba (O.Gruss & Roeth) E.A.Christenson 2001; Phalaenopsis pulcherrima f. albiflora (Rchb.f.) Christenson 2001; Phalaenopsis pulcherrima f. caerulea (Fowlie) Christenson 2001
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Xenia Orchidaceae Rchb.f 1862; Otia Botanica Hamburgensia Rchb.f 1878 as Phalaenopsis esmeralda; Xenia Orchidaceae Vol 3 Reichenbach 1896 as Phalaenopsis antennifera drawing fide; The Orchids of Burma Grant 1895/95 as Phalaenopsis esmeralda; The Orchids of Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1 King & Pantling 1898 as Doritis wightii drawing fide; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as Phalaenopsis esmeralda; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as Phalaenopsis esmeralda drawing good; Flora of Malaya Vol 1 Holttum 1957 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 9 1958 as Phalaenopsis esmeralda drawing good; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 10 1958 drawing as D wightii; AOS Bulletin Vol 31 No 10 1962 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 32 No 10 1963; The Orchids of Thailand Seidenfaden & Smitinand 1963 drawing/photo fide; The Orchids of Thailand Seidenfaden & Smitinand 1965 corrections; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Beautiful Thai Orchid Species Kamemoto & Sagarik 1975 photo fide; Indian Orchids A Guide to Identification and Culture Vol 2 Pradhan 1979 as P mastersii; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 9 1979 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 51 No 12 1982 photo fide; Opera Botanica # 95 Seidenfaden 1988 drawing/photo fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 22 1329 - 1392 Brieger 1989 drawing/photo fide; The Orchids of Penninsular Malaysia and Singapore Wood & Seidenfaden 1992 drawing/photo fide; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Laurent 1992 photo fide; A Checklist of the Orchids of Borneo Wood & Cribb 1994; Identification of the Orchids [Orchidaceae Juss.] Vietnam Averyanov 1994; Orchid Digest Vol 61 #1 1997 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 66 No 8 1997 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 66 No 12 1997 photo fide; The Wild Orchids of China Tsi, Chen & Mori 1997; Native Orchids of China in Colour Singchi, Zhanhuo and Yibo 1999 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 71 No 7 2002 photo; Orchids of Sumatra Comber 2001 photo fide; A to Z of South East Asian Orchid Species Vol 1 O'Byrne 2001 photo fide; Phalaenopsis A Monograph E A Christenson 2001 photo fide; Phalaenopsis A Monograph E A Christenson 2001 as P pulcherrima f alba; Phalaenopsis A Monograph E A Christenson 2001 as P pulcherrima f albifora; Phalaenopsis A Monograph E A Christenson 2001 as P pulcherrima f caerula; Orchid Digest Vol 66 #4 2002 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 71 #7 2002 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 4 2003 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 4 2003 as D pulcherrima var champornensis photo fide; A field Guide to the Wild Orchids of Thailand Vaddhanaphuti 2005 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 2 2004 photo fide; A field Guide to the Wild Orchids of Thailand Vaddhanaphuti 2005 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 72 No 4 2007 photo; The Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 #7 2008 photo fide; AOS Bulletin vol 78 No 12 2009 as D pulcherimma var apiculata photo fide; Mille et Une Mini Orchideees Roguenant 2009 as Phalaenopsis pulcherrimaphoto fide; A Field Guide to the Orchids of China Singchi, Zhongjian, Yibo, Xiaohua and Zhanhuo 2009 photo fide; Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009; Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide; The Atlas of Wild Orchids in Hainan Island, China Shenyan and Junmei 2010 photo fide; Wild Orchids of Penninsular Malaysia Ong, O'Byrne, Yong & Saw 2011 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 82 #3 2013 photo fide; Turczaninowia 16(4):26-46 NEW AND RARE ORCHIDS (ORCHIDACEAE) IN THE FLORA OF CAMBODIA AND LAOS Averyanov 2013;
AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #6 2015 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 80 #3 2016 as Phalaenopsis pulcherimma photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #8 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #11 2016 photo fide; Turczaninowia 19 (3): 5–58 L. V. Averyanov, Khang Sinh Nguyen etal 2016 ; AOS Bulletin Vol 86 #8 2017 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #12 2016 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 83 #4 2019 Photo fide; Atlas of Native Orchids of China Vol 2 Jin Xiaohua, Li Jianwu and Ye Deping 2019 photo fide;
Doritis pulcherrima f. alba O.Gruss & J.Roeth 1999
Photo by Eric Hunt, plant grown by
A white color form of the previous species.
Synonyms Phalaenopsis pulcherrima f. alba (O.Gruss & Roeth) E.A.Christenson 2001
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Otia Botanica Hamburgensia Rchb.f 1878 as Phalaenopsis esmeralda var albida; AOS Bulletin Vol 37 No 8 1968 photo fide; Phalaenopsis A Monograph E A Christenson 2001
Phalaenopsis pulcherrima f. caerulea (Fowlie) Christenson 2001;
Photo courtesy of Dale and Deni Borders
A blue color form of the previous species.
Synonyms Doritis pulcherrima f. caerulea (Fowlie) O.Gruss & Roeth 1999; Doritis pulcherrima var. caerulea Fowlie 1969;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 74 No 5 2005 photo fide; Phalaenopsis A Monograph E A Christenson 2001 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #6 2015 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 83 #4 2019 Photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 89 #1 2020 photo fide
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