''Vanda garayi'', or Garay's ascocentrum, is a small

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 ...

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 ...

orchid

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 semi-deciduous and deciduous dry lowland forests of

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 b ...

, Laos, and Sumatra.

Description

''Vanda garayi'' is a small (rarely larger than 15 cm) epiphytic orchid with numerous, long, thick, fleshy aerial roots and a stout, erect stem with persistent, distichous leaf bases. Its thick, straight, rigid leaves are apically toothed, distichous, ligulate, and conduplicate and often sprinkled with purple spots. Golden orange flowers about 1.3 cm across appear in compact, erect, conical 10–25 cm racemes in late spring to early summer. The narrow spur contains copious nectar and the flowers, like most species formerly classified as ''Ascocentrum'', lack fragrance or nectar guides. A dark brown anther cap protects the pollinia. Two factors contribute to frequent mislabeling of ''Vanda garayi'' in cultivation. Firstly, following the publication ''Genera Orchidacearum'' volume 6 in 2014, all ''Ascocentrum'' species are included in the genus ''Vanda''. In trade many specimens are sold under their former genus. Secondly, ''Vanda garayi'' is often confused with the rarer ''Vanda miniatum''. Thus, ''Vanda garayi'' is more often than not labeled as ''Ascocentrum miniatum''. ''V. garayi'' and ''V. miniatum'' are definitively distinguished by their flowers and thus a bloom must be observed, though their leaves differ as well. ''V. garayi'''s flowers are solid golden orange with rounded petals and sepals and a straight lip. ''V. miniatums flowers are slightly transparent, reddish, and noticeably veined, its petals and sepals are narrower, and its lip is recurved. ''V. garayi'''s leaves are usually shorter and thicker.

Distribution

''Vanda garayi'' is found growing epiphytically on deciduous trees in warm to hot climates between sea level and 1000 meters in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, Laos,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Sumatra,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

Cultivation

''Vanda garayi'' has long been popular among orchid growers for its colorful blooms, small size, and ease of culture. The species thrives in very bright light and can tolerate full sun, developing purple anthocyanin spots in these conditions. While abundant water is beneficial, it must be allowed to dry quickly. Outdoors, it is often grown on wooden slats or in baskets to allow rapid drying after heavy rains. Indoors, clay pots partially filled with bark, charcoal, or wood are ideal. Strong and regular air movement mitigates soggy media. Temperatures are best kept between 15 °C and 30 °C as growth slows or stops below 10 °C and above 34 °C. Weekly to bi-weekly fertilizing is recommended with heavier feeding during the spring and summer.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q59923064 Epiphytes garayi