Photo: sunoochi from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0. Unmodified apart from resizing.
Colour
white, yellow
Region
Singapore and tropical Asia
Season
winter, spring
Shape
hanging raceme
Identification
An epiphytic orchid found from south-eastern Taiwan to the Philippines. Broad fleshy leaves in two ranks. An arching raceme carries a row of large white flowers whose broad rounded petals look like a moth's wings, the lip marked yellow and red and ending in two tendrils, hence moth orchid. One of the important wild species behind modern white Phalaenopsis hybrids; white moth orchids from Taiwan's Lanyu won international show awards and launched Taiwan's Phalaenopsis industry. Wild populations are scarce through collecting.
Habitat
Lowland tropical forest, on trunks in warmth, humidity and diffuse light; its hybrids are the best-selling pot orchids in the world.
Distribution
Native from south-eastern Taiwan (Lanyu, Taitung) to the Philippines; scarce in the wild in Taiwan and very widely grown. Southern China and Taiwan are the centres of the Phalaenopsis industry, Japan is among the largest markets (kochōran, the standard gift for a business opening), and it is grown in Singapore's orchid gardens.
Season and behaviour
Winter and spring in the wild, January to April; year-round under glass. A spray lasts two or three months.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
A row of white moths along an arching scape: frame the arc of the whole spray, portrait or landscape, with a dark background to float the white, half a stop to a stop under. A head-on macro for the yellow and red lip markings and the two tendrils. White flowers suit window-light still life. Rows of kochōran pots at a Japanese business opening are a human subject.
Photographic styles
A row of white moths on an arching scape; macro of the lip markings.
Similar species
Phalaenopsis amabilis (very similar, further south, the two often merged); Taiwanese Phalaenopsis hybrids (many colours); Phalaenopsis equestris (small, pink).
Related badge
None yet. No validated photo recognition exists for this species, so no badge is tied to it: a name in the encyclopedia is not evidence in a photograph.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. The photograph is from Wikimedia Commons; its licence and author are under it.
Why it is listed: this species comes from the Flower checklist (GBIF backbone and Wikidata verified). Names follow the GBIF backbone and Wikidata; the facts follow the sources below; photo recognition is not offered.
