''Phalaenopsis floresensis'' is a species of orchid endemic to the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

. This is referenced in the specific epithet ''floresensis'', which refers to one of the Lesser Sunda Islands,

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...

Description

This species of herbaceous epiphyte has 5-7 leaves up to 25 cm in length and 9 cm in width. The leaves are longer than the 2-3 flowered

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s, which are 10–20 cm long and produce cream coloured flowers, which are 4 cm wide. Pale brown transverse colouration occurs at the bases of lateral

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s. The petals are plain cream white and unmarked. The midlobe of the labellum has a dull rose keel and a crenulate-denticulate apex with fleshy trichomes. The lateral lobes of the labellum are irregularly truncate. The slightly arching

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

is 6–8 mm long.

Taxonomy

Confusion with ''

Phalaenopsis javanica ''Phalaenopsis javanica'' is a species of orchid native to Java and Sumatra. The specific epithet ''javanica'' refers to the Indonesian island Java. Description These epiphytic plants have numerous, shiny, waxy elliptic-obovate, distichously ar ...

'' occurred, as photographs of the type specimens were taken, in which the flowers were not fully open. This led to confusion, as ''Phalaenopsis javanica'' has flowers of similar appearance, which do not open widely. This mistake was made in the first publication and subsequent second appearance in print. ''Phalaenopsis floresnsis'' flowers however do expand fully, unlike ''Phalaenopsis javanica'' flowers.

Ecology

This species grows on trees at elevations of 150–300 m or 300–500 m. The information is conflicting in that regard.

Conservation

Ex-situ conservation through artificial propagation has been researched. It is protected by national legislation. In addition, international trade is regulated through the CITES appendix II regulations of international trade.

References

floresensis Orchids of Indonesia Orchids of the Lesser Sunda Islands Plants described in 1993 {{Phalaenopsis-stub