''Vanda coerulescens'', also known as sky-blue vanda, is a species of monopodial

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 ...

native to Assam and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, eastern Himalayas, southern

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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 C. Wells, Joh ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Description

The average height of ''V. coerulescens'' is between 30 and 60 cm. It has evergreen, apically bilobed strap leaves. It s an

epiphytic 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 ...

perennial orchid species with erect or drooping axillary raceme

inflorescences 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 ...

from

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is us ...

stems. Inflorescences are long that may reach more than 30 cm, producing multiple fragrant and showy blue coloured flowers of about 3 cm. Its lip is oblong-lanceolate shaped with yellow-orange colour base, yellow mid-part and white apex. Outside of the lip has a white base colour and violet mid-part and apex.

Sepals 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 ...

are tessellated netted and strikes/striped. The Orchid Album-01-0146-0048-Vanda coerulescens-crop

Growth conditions

Indoors it prefers very bright filtered light, growing well in intermediate to warm temperature. It is best grown in well drained soil in clay, basket (best option) or plastic pots and watered frequently. Like all Vandas, ''V. coerulescens'' grows best in wooden slat baskets with no media. Its flowers are long lasting. Outdoors ''V. coerulescens'' is a terrestrial species that grows in hot to cool areas at elevations of 300 to 1200 meters, often found on tree trunks in open forests. It has been reported to flower in August to October.

References

External links

* coerulescens Orchids of India Flora of Arunachal Pradesh Orchids of Yunnan {{Vandeae-stub