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Phalaenopsis tetraspis is an epiphytic moth orchid from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and northwestern Sumatra, grown for its showy, fragrant flowers. Grow it like other moth orchids: bright indirect light, airy bark-based mix, and careful watering.
Phalaenopsis tetraspis is a species of epiphytic orchid endemic to the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands and northwestern Sumatra. It was originally erroneously published as a Himalayan species by Reichenbach, which was corrected by James Veitch 23 years after Heinrich Gustav Reichenbachs publication.
Mature specimens may have up to nine leaves, but usually plants have 4–5, elliptic-obovate, acute to obtuse, 20 cm long and 8 cm wide leaves. Showy, fleshy, fragrant flowers are produced on axillary, arching to subpendent racemes or panicles. A prominent feature of this species is the midlobe of the labellum, which is oblong, obtuse-subacute, and the apex is covered in dense trichomes. The karyotype is asymmetric and nonuniform.
As of February 2022, the International Orchid Register of the Royal Horticultural Society lists 187 registered hybrids involving Phalaenopsis tetraspis under the inclusion of its synonym Phalaenopsis speciosa. The taxonomic changes have only been sparingly adapted in horticulture and plants are often still sold as Phalaenopsis speciosa.
Phalaenopsis subg. Hygrochilus · Phalaenopsis subg. Ornithochilus · Moth orchid · Phalaenopsis amboinensis · Phalaenopsis aphrodite · Phalaenopsis appendiculata · Phalaenopsis bastianii · Phalaenopsis bellina · Phalaenopsis boulbetii · Phalaenopsis buyssoniana · Phalaenopsis cacharensis · Phalaenopsis celebensis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phalaenopsis tetraspis 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.
