An evergreen terrestrial orchid forming tall clumps. Crowded pseudobulbs 4–6 cm long each with three or four pleated leaves (the epithet means pleated) 50–90 cm long and 1–1.5 cm wide. A hairy flowering stem 50–100 cm tall with up to forty deep pink to purple flowers 3.5–5.5 cm across; the lip T-shaped and three-lobed, the side lobes near vertical, with a yellow callus at the centre. The type species of its genus.
Habitat
Sunny grassy slopes, roadsides, forest edge and wetland margins, and widely planted in tropical parks, roadside beds and borders, one of the easiest terrestrial orchids to grow.
Distribution
Tropical and subtropical Asia to Australia (Cape York in Queensland) and the western Pacific (Tonga, Samoa); very common in Singapore's parks and roadsides, wild on Taiwan's Orchid and Green Islands, scarce in Hainan, present in the Ryukyus.
Season and behaviour
Flowers all year in Singapore, most after the rains; a stem opens in succession and lasts weeks.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
Purple goes blue in tropical sun and is true only in soft light or half shade; the yellow callus in the lip's centre is the macro focus, from the front and slightly above. The pleated leaves show their ribs against the light and make a background. Tall stems sway in wind, so 1/500 s or faster.
Photographic styles
Purple orchids on a tropical roadside; macro of a yellow-marked lip.
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.
