Phaius SUBFAMILY Epidendroideae, TRIBE Arethuseae, SUBTRIBE Bletiinae.

This genus is composed of 40-50 species widespread through Africa to the Philippines and the Pacific Islands. It is a wide spread genus that for the most part has a pleasing vegatative appearance even out of bloom They are mostly shade loving and terrestrial with a few epiphytes and generally like even watering [see individual species listing]. When in their growth phase weekly fertilizer is reccomended year round. Phaius are sympodial and most often terrestrial, with highly varialble plant size. The pseudobulbs are small with new growths arising from the base of the pseudobulb or from the rhizome. They have large plicate leaves that can be ruffled as well and generally have a pretty out of bloom appearance. The inflorescence arises from the base of the old pseudobulb or from the rhizome and has its flowers racemose at the end of the spike. Phaius in general has large showy flowers with a pleasant fragrance. New plants can be obtained from the old spikes, just lay the spike out in a plastic flat filled with sand and half cover them. Keep in a shady moist area and in 1-2 months the new plants will appear from the nodes of the spike. The phaius from Madagascar are also listed in the genus Gastorchis and in the list below are noted with an *.

Phaius Species List

The species list below was composed with information from the following sources.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids by Alec Pridgeon. Published by the Timber Press

The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species By Bechtel, Cribb and Launert, Published by The MIT Press

Orchid Species Culture , Pescatorea, Phaius, Phalenopsis, Pholidota, Phragmepideum and Pleione by Charles and Margaret Baker , Timber press

* indicates species that may or were included in Gastorchis depending on who you listen to.

~Species names that are synonyms of correct species are denoted with a ~

1. actinomorphus T.P.Lin
- Taiwan - Alt 792m - Flowers in Dec. - Shady and wet in spring and summer, dry and humid winter - Terrestrial

~albus - See Thunia alba

2. amboinensis [Zipp.] Blume
- Indonesia, New guinea and out through the Pacific Islands - Alt 0-100m - Flowers in June-Oct -Terrestrial
3. assamicus
-?Sanders list

~augustinianus See P. cupreus

~australis - See P. tankervileae

~bensoniae - See Thunia alba

4. bernaysii
- ?Sanders list

~brenaysii - see P. tankervilleae

~bicolor Lindl. - See P. tankervilleae

5. bkumei
- ?Sanders list

~blumei - See P. tankervilleae

6. boreensis J.J.SM
- Borneo - Terrestrial - Rare

~bracteosus - See P. flavus

~calanthoides - See Cephalantheropsis halconensis

7. callosus [Blume] Lindl.
- Malaysia, Indonesia, Java - Alt 1219-1525m - Flowers in Nov-Dec - Shady montane forest -Terrestrial

~callosus var ecalcaratus See P. ecalcaratus

~candidissimus - See Thunia candidissimus

~carronii Schltr. - See P. tankervilleae

8. celebicus Scltr.
- Possibly conspecific with P. flavus - Sulawesi [Celebes] Islands and Indonesia - Alt 1200m - Flowers in Dec. - High elevation forest in humus - terrestrial - Wet summer, dryer late winter and early spring
9. columnaris Tang & cheng
- China - Alt 230m - Flowers in May-June - Limestone areas under forest trees - terrestrial
10. cooperi Rolfe
- Rare
11. corymbioides Schltr.
- Rare

~crinita [Gagnep.]Seidenf. - See P. mishmensis

~crispus - See P. flavus

12. ?cupreus Rchb.f.
-Java - Rare
13. daenikerii Krzl.
- New Caledonia - Alt 750-1200m - Flowers in Jan, June and Sept. - among rocks in humid forest areas - Terrestrial - Even water year round

~dodgsonii - See Thunia dodgsonii

~ecalcaratus J.J.Sm. - Indonesia - Rare

14. epiphyticus Seidenf.
- Thailand - Alt 1400-1530m - Flowers in ? - small epiphyte
15. flavus [Blume] Lindl.
- India, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines - Alt 1220m-1768m - Flowers in Dec-May, July-Aug and Oct - Terrestrial - High swampy forest - shaded light - more water May-Oct., less water Nov-Apr.

~flexuosus - See P. flavus

16. fragilis L.O.Williams
- Philippines - Alt 900-1500m - Flowers in Apr-Aug - Mossy forests -terrestrial - Water even year round
17. *francoisii {Sclctr.]Summerh.
- Madagascar - Alt 1200-1600m - Flowers in Aug-Oct. - Humid forests - Water more May-Sept -terrestrial
18. *geffrayi J Bosser
- Madagascar - Alt 1000m - Flowers in ? - Moist shady forest - terrestrial
19. gibbosulus H.Perrier
- Rare

~giganteous - See P. tankervilleae

~gracilis Hayata -See P. mishmensis

~gracilis [Lindl.]S.S.Ying - See Cephalantheropsis gracilis

20. graeffi Rchb.f.
- Samoa and Fiji - Rare

~grandiflorus - See P. tankervilleae

~grandifolius Lour. - See P.tankervilleae

21. gratus Blume
- Ambon Island - Rare
22. hainanensis Tang&Cheng
- Hainan Island, China - Alt 1100m - Flowers in May - Rock crevasses - Terrestrial - More water Apr-Nov - medium wet all year

~halconensis See Cephalantheropsis halconensis

~hasseltii - See p. callosus

23. hookerianus Rchb.f.
- Rare - location unknown
24. * humblotii [Rchb.f.] Summerh
- Madagascar - Alt 1000-2000m - flowers in May-Oct - wet semi-deciduous forest - more water June-Oct - Terrestrial

~incarvillei - See P. tankervilleae

~indigoferis Blume - See P. flavus

25. indigoferus Hassock
- Thailand and Vietnam - Alt 1300m - Flowers in ? - Montane forests - More water Apr-Oct - terrestrial
26. klabatensis J.J.Sm.
- Sulawesi [Celebes] Island -Rare

~kuhlii - See P. callosus

27. labiatus J.J.Sm.
- Sumatra - Rare

~leucophoeus Ames - See P. tankervilleae

28. linearifolius Ames
- Philippines - Alt 1200-1650m - Flowers in June and July - Hill forests at streamside - Terrestrial - more water May-Oct
29. longibracteatus Frap. ex Cordem.
- Rare

~longicornu - See P. tankervilleae

30. longicruris Z.H.Tsi
- Rare

~longipes - Cephalantheropsis Gracilis

31. luridus Thwaites
- Sri Lanka [Ceylon] - Alt 0-200m - Flowers in Aug-Sept - Moist shady lowlands - Rare - terrestrial
32. *luteus [Ursch&Genoud] J.Bosser
- Madagascar - Alt 900m - Flowers in Mar-Apr. - Humid forests - Terrestrial or occasionally epiphytic on base of mossy trees
33. lyonii Ames
- Philippines - Alt 600-850m - Flowers in Mar-Sept - Open and shady glades - terrestrial - water more May-Oct

~maculatus - See P. flavus

34. mannii Rchb.f.
- May be conspecific with P. wallichii aka P. tankervilleae - Zaire Africa - Terrestrial - More water May-Nov.

~marshalliae - See Thunia alba

35. mindorensis Ames
- Philippines - Alt 1000-1430m - Flowers in Mar and Nov - Mossy forests - terrestrial or epiphyte - more water May-Nov

~minor - See P. flavus

36. mishmensis [lindl.] Rchb.f.
- Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands - Alt 900-1500m - Flowers in July-Jan - Broadleaf forests with semi shade - Terrestrial - more water Apr-Oct
37. montanus Schltr.
- New Guinea - Alt. 800-1300m - Flowers in Jan-Feb and Sept - Sharp ridges in cloudforest in the Finistere Mtns. often rooted in humus between large rocks in open semi- bushy spots - Dappled shady light as the location gets few clear days - Keep damp all year, water more Nov-Apr - terrestrail

~monticola - See P. robertsii

38. nanus Hkr.
- W Bengal, India - Rare
39. neocaledonicus Rendle
- New Caledonia - Alt 75-400m - Flowers in Nov-Feb - rarely seen but found in dense forest - even water year round - Terrestrial

~niveus - See Thunia alba

40. occidentalis Schltr.
- Uganda, Angola, Malawi, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe - Alt 1100-1400m - Flowers in Feb and Oct-Nov - Sphagnum swamps - keep wet year round but water more Mar-May - Terrestrial

~pallidus - See P. pauciflorus

~papuanus Considered a var. of P. amboinensis

~paradoxus - See Megastylus paradoxa

41. pauciflorus Blume
- Malaysia, Sumatra and Java - Alt 800-1500m - Flowers in Jan and Aug - Forests - water more Apr-Nov - Terrestrial
42. *peyrotii J.Bosser
- Madagascar - Alt 900-1100m - Flowers in ? - Shady forests - Terrestrial - more water July-Oct but keep wet year round
43. philippinesis N.E.Brown
- Philippines - Alt 900-1200m - Flowers in Jan, Mar-Apr and Oct-Nov - mossy bogs - water year round but more water in May-Oct - shady - terrestrial
44. pictus T.E.Hunt
- Australia, Cape York pennisula - Alt 0-800m - Flowers in May - warm rainforest - more water June-Oct never soggy - terrestrial -shady

~platychilus - See P. flavus

45. *pulchellus Krztl
- Madagascar - Alt 700-1500m - Flowers in Feb-May - shady humid forest - terrestrial - more water Jan-Sept never soggy
46. *pulcher [Hum&Perr de Bathie]Summerh
- Madagascar - Flowers in ? - Alt 800-1700m - shady humid forest - Even water year round - terrestrial
47. ramosii Ames
- - Philippines - Rare

~roeblingii - See P. tankervilleae

~roseus Rolfe - See P. mishmensis

48. robertsii von Mueller
- New Caledonia - Alt 90-1400m - Flowers in Sept-Dec - Humid forest - even water year round - terrestrial

~rumphii - See Spathoglottis plicata

49. sanderianus
?Sanders list

~schlecteri See P. humblotii - color variation

50. *simulans Rolfe
- Madagascar - Flowers are similar to P. tuberculosis yet plants are distinctly different - epiphyte with climbing branching rhizome - moss covered tree trunks
51. sinensis Rolfe
- Kwangtung China - Rare

~somai - See P. flavus

52. stenocentron Schltr.
- Sulawesi [Celebes] - Rare
53. steppicola Hand.&Mazz.
- China - subtropical and rocky - Rare

~stuppens - See P. tankervilleae

54. subtrilobus Ames and Schweinfurth
- North Borneo - Alt 1500m - Flowers in Jan-Feb - even water year round - terrestrial
55. tahitensis Schltr.
- Tahiti - Rare
56. tankervilleae Blume
- Africa through Asia and out to the Pacific Islands including Australia - Alt 0-2000m - open grassy fields or moist open deciduous forest, or in swampy areas of shady pine forest - more water May-Sept -Terrestrial
57. *tenuis Rchb.f.
- Madagascar - Rare
58. trichoneurus Schltr
- Sulawesi {Celebes} Islands - Alt 0-100m - terrestrial

~tuberculatus - See P. tankervilleae

59. *tuberculosus Blume
- Madagascar

~undulatomarginata - See P. flavus

60. veratrifolius Lindl.
- Himalayas - Rare

~wallichii Hkr.f. - See P. tankervilleae and P. mannii

~warpurii Weathers - See P. tuberculosus

61. wenshanensis
-?Sanders list

~woodfordii - See P. flavus

~zollingeri - See P. amboinensis

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