About
Phalaenopsis finleyi is a small epiphytic orchid from the forest canopy of Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, with white, brown-barred flowers spotted with purple. It is very rare, and international trade is regulated under CITES Appendix II.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA, Phalaenopsis spp.). General guidance for the genus
- People
- Not recorded.
- Humidity
- High humidity. General guidance for the genus
- Hardiness
- Frost-tender; outdoors only in USDA zones 10–12, elsewhere a houseplant or greenhouse plant. General guidance for the genus
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
An epiphyte with short stems and elliptic leaves up to 9 cm wide. Arching to hanging racemes carry flowers whose reflexed white petals and sepals are barred lengthwise in brown; the lateral sepals and the lip bear purple spots. The lip is broadly rounded at the tip with a two-rowed callus, and the column has broad, rounded wings at the stigma.
Distribution & habitat
Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, on trunks and branches in broad-leaved evergreen forest.
Ecology
Lives high in the canopy of large trees, which makes it hard to observe and leaves its distribution unclear. It flowers in June and July.
History & etymology
Seidenfaden compared it early on with Phalaenopsis stobartiana of section Aphyllae, an affinity later confirmed. Its chromosome count is 2n = 34.
Conservation
Very rare and categorised as endangered, and potentially threatened by regional trade. International trade is regulated under CITES Appendix II.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
- Humidity
- High humidity.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Crossed P. finleyi with another species?Register the cross. If it's not documented yet you'll be the first contributor; if someone already registered it, you'll be taken there to add your photo.