''Rhynchostylis gigantea'' is a species of

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 flowerin ...

. This species was first described in 1896 by John Lindley and is native to

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, Thailand,

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

) and the Philippines. ''Rhynchostylis'' differs from ''

Vanda ''Vanda'', abbreviated in the horticultural trade as ''V.,'' is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are about 87 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among ...

'' by the one-lobed lip. ''Rhynchostylis'' are also commonly called foxtail orchids because of their long, thin, densely packed

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s that get up to with sweetly fragrant blooms. The inflorescences appear in autumn and winter. Due to the wide distribution of ''Rhynchostylis gigantea'', there is a range of different clones: flowers vary slightly in shape and colour (from white to dark red, with spotted forms). Unlike ''Vanda'' species, they need indirect light. ''Rhynchostylis gigantea'' are best grown in a wood-slat basket with little or no potting material and will grow massive fleshy roots entangled throughout the basket if given uniform water and

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

. The plants are warm- to hot-growing. it is the state flower of the Indian state of Assam where it is known as ''kopouful'' (কপৌফুল) in Assamese.

References

External links

* * gigantea Orchids of Borneo Orchids of Myanmar Orchids of Cambodia Orchids of China Orchids of Laos Orchids of Malaysia Orchids of Thailand Orchids of the Philippines Orchids of Vietnam Flora of Hainan Plants described in 1833 Symbols of Assam {{Vandeae-stub