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The Phalaenopsis Story
Phalaenopsis wilsoni
Phalaenopsis boasts plants almost as beautiful as its flowers; they have smooth, shiny, large leaves, emanating from the central crown, and they lack pseudobulbs.
Called by the florists 'butterfly orchids,' in their home they are more nearly correctly known as 'moth orchids,' gleaming and moth-like in the dark of night.
Heavy strap-like roots go forth searching for moisture and, owing to their habit of roving and clinging to foreign objects, constitute a considerable problem in repotting. Erect woody stems bear flowers prolifically until the weight causes them to curve.
The structure of the flowers is exquisite, the dorsal sepal rounded, shaping to a point at the top; the side petals broad and sweeping; the two lower sepals, narrower and sometimes overlapping, forming a background for the remarkable lip, crested with yellow. Red lines in the throat seem to signal the way to the hybridizing insects, and the fore lobes of the lip are frequently elongated into curling tendrils.
With the proper information the beginning grower and the Phalaenopsis can get along quite nicely.
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