The ornamental

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

species ''Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica'' ( ) is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to certain islands of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Its flowers are creamy white with transverse markings that resemble

glyph A glyph () is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A g ...

s. Through hybridization, growers have successfully created flowers with different shapes and colors while retaining the glyphs. Since 1975, the species has been protected under

Appendix II CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

of the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

(CITES).

Growth, habitat and cultivation

Commonly ''P. hieroglyphica'' blooms in spring, with three to four star-shaped flowers that open simultaneously and last two to three months; a well-established specimen with

keiki In horticulture, a keiki ( ) is a plant produced asexually by an orchid plant, especially ''Dendrobium'', ''Epidendrum'' (''sensu lato''), and ''Phalaenopsis'' orchids. The baby plant is an exact clone of the mother plant, sometimes flowering w ...

s can produce more than 50 flowers. Their fragrance is said to be faintly rose-like or strongly citrus-like. The background of the flower can be white to ochre, sometimes with a tinge of green at the tips, and the glyphs on the sepals and stamens can be cinnamon or a purple hue. The flowers are comparatively larger and the glyphs more pronounced than those of ''P. lueddemanniana''. The characteristic

s are retained in ''P. hieroglyphica'' hybrids. As a

monopodial Vascular plants with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word ''Monopodial'' is derived from Greek "mono-", ''one'' and "podial", "foot", in refe ...

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

, it is found growing on and hanging down from trees in shady locations on the islands of Polillo,

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

(in

Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...

and

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur (Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ceb, Habagatang Surigao; tl, Timog Surigao), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located ...

) and

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

at elevations below . Of its genus, this species grows in the coolest and deeply shady locations of humid forests. Not much is known about its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, including its

pollinators A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

. The species was first cultivated in England by

Hugh Low Sir Hugh Low, (10 May 182418 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he was appointed as British administrator in the Malay Peninsula where he made the first ...

& Company from a specimen delivered by collector William Boxall in 1887. Since 1975 this species has been considered vulnerable to extinction and listed in

of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). To protect against overcollection, an export permit is required in international trade of specimens taken from their natural habitat. Protection from loss and degradation of the natural habitat are also concerns.

Taxonomy

The accepted synonym ''Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana var. hieroglyphica'' reflects its naming in 1887 by German orchidologist H. G. Reichenbach. In 1969, American botanist H. R. Sweet elevated its ranking to species. The accepted synonym ''Polychilos hieroglyphica'' is traced to Malaysian botanist

Shim Shim may refer to: * Shim (spacer), a thin and often tapered or wedged piece of material ** CPU shim, a spacer for a computer heat sink ** Shim (fencing), a device used in the sport fencing ** Shim (lock pick), a tool used to bypass padlocks * Sh ...

in 1982. The

morphological characteristics Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

of ''P. hieroglyphica'' reported by H. R. Sweet and Eric A. Christenson point to species classification and intragenus relationships confirmed by DNA analysis findings published in 2009.

Anatomy of ''Phalaenopsis''

In the epiphytes of ''Phalaenopsis'', moisture is stored primarily in the leaves and photosynthesis-generating sugar primarily in the fleshy roots. In ''Phalaenopsis'' species with horizontal stems, such as ''P. hieroglyphica'', the leaves are pendant and grow downward to drain rainwater away from the plant. The reproductive organ is the column, found between the two largest petals of ''Phalaenopsis'' orchids. The lip, connected to the flower by the column, aids in pollination. The lip in all ''Phalaenopsis'' orchids has three lobes, as depicted in a general orchid flower diagram (''left''). In the seminal work ''

Fertilisation of Orchids ''Fertilisation of Orchids'' is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin published on 15 May 1862 under the full explanatory title ''On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects, and On the Good ...

'',

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

detailed these and other observable characteristics of orchid specimens, including ''Phalaenopsis'' species, to determine biological mechanisms of species adaptation, survival and ecological relationships. Leaf: oblong and leather-like, up to long and wide, tapering to the base, acute or obtuse at the tip

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 ...

: from arching to suberect,

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

, up to long and many-flowered, with ovate to hooded

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s up to long, appearing on the stem which emerges between the leaves Flower: star-shaped, up to , with transverse barring on the

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 and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s Labellum or Lip: three-lobed, up to long and wide, lateral lobes being cleft and oblong, the intermediate or mid-lobe being

oblanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

to obtuse with a raised central ridge covered with

trichomes Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

Dorsal

: elliptic, inward-sloping, up to long and wide Lateral sepal: obliquely oblong to elliptic and tapering, channeled along the midvein, up to long and less than wide

Petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

: ovate to elliptic, wedge-shaped, up to long and wide

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. ...

: cylindrical and slightly arching, up to long

Pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

and

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

: up to 0.75 inch long

References

Notes

External links

* *
Varieties of ''Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica''

Picsearch images

Epidendra: The Global Orchid Taxonomic Network (at the University of Costa Rica)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1310005

hieroglyphica Horapollo (from Horus Apollo; grc-gre, Ὡραπόλλων) is the supposed author of a treatise, titled ''Hieroglyphica'', on Egyptian hieroglyphs, extant in a Greek translation by one Philippus, dating to about the 5th century. Life Horapollo i ...