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Phalaenopsis cacharensis

Phalaenopsis cacharensis is a rare epiphytic orchid known from a single recorded plant found in Cachar, Assam, growing on a tree trunk in wet lowland forest. It is a moth orchid relative with red-purple flowers; as a single known wild specimen, cultivation details are largely unknown, so treat it as a conservation rarity rather than a typical houseplant.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Bright indirect
Water
Water when the potting medium begins to dry, avoiding waterlogged roots.
Soil
Fine-bark orchid mix or sphagnum, with good drainage and air around the roots.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 15 °C.
How easy
Hard
Safety
Not toxic to cats or dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
Assam
Climate
wet tropical

About

Phalaenopsis cacharensis is a rare orchid native to Cachar, Assam which has only one plant ever recorded. The single plant was discovered by Hussain Ahmed Barbhuiya of the Botanical Survey of India while doing field work in the Borail Wildlife Sanctuary. The specific epithet, cacharensis refers to the district where it was found.

Where it grows

The only specimen was found growing on the trunk of Duabanga grandiflora at 130 m elevation in wet evergreen lowland forest. The plant is critically endangered, with the plant threatened by local slash and burn farming and tree cutting.

Other Phalaenopsis plants

Phalaenopsis subg. Hygrochilus · Phalaenopsis subg. Ornithochilus · Moth orchid · Phalaenopsis amboinensis · Phalaenopsis aphrodite · Phalaenopsis appendiculata · Phalaenopsis bastianii · Phalaenopsis bellina · Phalaenopsis boulbetii · Phalaenopsis buyssoniana · Phalaenopsis celebensis · Phalaenopsis chibae

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phalaenopsis cacharensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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