science

Phalaenopsis amabilis

Phalaenopsis amabilis is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Phalaenopsis amabilis rather than just read about it. In short: Phalaenopsis amabilis, commonly known as moon orchid, moth orchid, or mariposa orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is widely cultivated as a decorative houseplant.

Key takeaways

Phalaenopsis amabilis belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Phalaenopsis amabilis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Phalaenopsis amabilis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Phalaenopsis amabilis, commonly known as moon orchid, moth orchid, or mariposa orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is widely cultivated as a decorative houseplant. It is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with long, thick roots, between two and eight thick, fleshy leaves with their bases hiding the stem and nearly flat, white, long-lasting flowers on a branching flowering stem with up to ten flowers on each branch. Phalaenopsis amabilis is native to Maritime Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. It has three subspecies: P. a. amabilis, native to the Philippines (Palawan), Malaysia (Borneo), Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra, and Java); P. a. moluccana, native to the Maluku Islands (Seram and Buru Islands) and Sulawesi of Indonesia; and P. a. rosenstromii, native to Papua New Guinea and Australia (northeastern Queensland). Phalaenopsis amabilis is one of the three national flowers of Indonesia, where it is known as anggrek bulan (lit. "moon orchid").

Description Phalaenopsis amabilis is an epiphytic, rarely lithophytic herb with coarse, flattened, branching roots up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) long and usually 3–4 millimetres (0.12–0.16 in) wide. Between two and eight fleshy, dark green, oblong to egg-shaped leaves 150–300 millimetres (5.9–12 in) long and 40–70 millimetres (1.6–2.8 in) wide are arranged in two rows along the stem. The stem is 100–300 millimetres (3.9–12 in) but hidden by the leaf bases. The flowers are arranged on a stiff, arching flowering stem 300–750 millimetres (12–30 in) long emerging from a leaf base, with a few branches near the tip. Each branch of the flowering stem bears between two and ten white, long-lasting flowers on a stalk (including the ovary) 20–35 millimetres (0.79–1.4 in) long. Each flower is 60–70 millimetres (2.4–2.8 in) long and 50–80 millimetres (2.0–3.1 in) wide with the sepals and petals free from and spreading widely apart from each other. The sepals are egg-shaped, 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in) long and about 20 millimetres (0.79 in) wide and the petals broadly egg-shaped to almost square, 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in) long and wide. The labellum is white with yellow and reddish markings, about 25 millimetres (0.98 in) long with three lobes. The side lobes curve upwards and partly surround the column. The middle lobe is cross-shaped with a rounded tip and two long, thread-like wavy arms. There is a large yellow callus near the base of the labellum. Flowering time depends on distribution but occurs from April to December in New Guinea.

Taxonomy and naming In 1750, before the system of binomial nomenclature had been formalised by Carl Linnaeus, Georg Eberhard Rumphius had collected the species on Ambon Island and described it as Angraecum albus majus in his book Herbarium Amboinense. Linnaeus described it in Species Plantarum giving it the binomial Epidendrum amabile and in 1825, Carl Ludwig Blume changed the name to Phalaenopsis amabilis. The specific epithet (amabilis) is a Latin word meaning "lovely". There are three subspecies of P. amabilis recognised by Plants of the World Online:

Phalaenopsis amabilis subsp. amabilis which is the most widespread subspecies and is distinguished from the other subspecies by its cross-shaped labellum middle lobe, the base of which has yellow and red markings; Phalaenopsis amabilis subsp. moluccana (Schltr.) Christenson which has a linear-oblong labellum middle lobe, with a slight dilation at its base where there are yellow and white markings; Phalaenopsis amabilis subsp. rosenstromii (F.M.Bailey) Christenson which has a relatively short, triangular labellum middle lobe where the markings are yellow; In Australia, subspecies rosenstromii is recognised as Phalaenopsis rosenstromii by the Australian Plant Census. It was discovered by Gus Rosenstrom "on trees, high from the ground, Daintree River" and was first formally described by Frederick Manson Bailey who published the description in the Queensland Agricultural Journal.

Distribution and habitat Phalaenopsis amabilis usually grows on trees, rarely on rocks, in rainforest where the humidity is high but there is free air movement. Subspecies amabilis has the widest distribution and occurs from Palawan in the southern Philippines to Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Subspecies moluccana is separated from subspecies amabilis by the Wallace Line and is found in Sulawesi as well as Seram and Buru in the Moluccas. Subspecies rosenstromii is native to New Guinea and Australia where it occurs on the Cape York Peninsula between the Iron Range and the Paluma Range National Park. It is separated from subspecies moluccana by Lydekker's Line.

Conservation Phalaenopsis rosenstromii was listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 but the listing was updated to Phalaenopsis amabilis subsp. rosenstromii in May 2016. The main threat to the subspecies in Australia is illegal collecting.

Use in horticulture Phalaenopsis amabilis is reported to be very easy to grow as a houseplant, as long as attention is paid to a correct feeding and watering regimen. It thrives in a domestic temperature range of 17–22 °C (63–72 °F), in bright indirect light such as that offered by an east- or west-facing window. Specialist orchid compost and feed is widely available. Species and cultivars in the genus Phalaenopsis are recommended for beginners. In cultivation in the United Kingdom, Phalaenopsis amabilis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Phalaenopsis amabilis is one of the parents of Phalaenopsis Harriettiae, reportedly the first man-made Phalaenopsis hybrid, created by John Veitch and recorded in 1887.

Importance Phalaenopsis amabilis (Indonesian: anggrek bulan meaning "moon orchid") is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia, the other two being the sambac jasmine and padma raksasa. It was officially recognized as national "flower of charm" (Indonesian: puspa pesona) in Presidential Decree No. 4 in 1993. The orchid is also the official flower of Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah, Malaysia.

References

External links Media related to Phalaenopsis amabilis at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phalaenopsis amabilis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phalaenopsis amabilis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Phalaenopsis amabilis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Phalaenopsis amabilis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Phalaenopsis amabilis

In research: Phalaenopsis amabilis appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Phalaenopsis amabilis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Phalaenopsis amabilis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, Epiphytic orchids, Flora listed on CITES Appendix II, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phalaenopsis amabilis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Phalaenopsis amabilis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Phalaenopsis amabilis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Phalaenopsis amabilis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phalaenopsis amabilis in simple terms?

Why does Phalaenopsis amabilis matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Phalaenopsis amabilis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Phalaenopsis amabilis.