Phalaenopsis pulcherrima (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. in situ
The photos in this page are all from François Sockhom Mey who had the great opportunity to see Phalaenopsis pulcherrima in situ. You can read the original article by François on his own blog here. He kindly gave me permission to use his pictures and gave me the informations you can read in this page. I warmly thank him. This species is fairly common in the province of Koh Kong, Cambodia. This part of the country, like most of the rest of the country is subject to a severe dry season and the species has evolved to cope with such a hostile environment, growing in places where nothing else will grow.
What an amazing sight to see these plants growing, flowering and reproducing in the middle of a rock with nothing else around!
These roots are really incredible. The photo on the right is one of my favorite. I will remember it when asking me the question whether it is time or not to repot my plant...
In nature as well as in culture in our greenhouses, the same color fluctuation occurs: this species produces flowers ranging from pale pink to dark pink.
These two flowers, still well open, have no more their pollinia. A bug must has been there few time ago.
The pictures below are also form François and shoot in the same area but on other sites.
Another station where many Phalaenopsis pulcherrima have grown.
The four pictures above give details of the same area. Note how plants spread their roots over long distances and cling firmly to the rock. Also note the large number of capsules already present. It is thanks to this great fertility that this species has remained common in the region, despite regular sampling.
Three more pictures of plants growing in other conditions, always in the same region and in areas 10 km from each other. These areas are flooded regularly by monsoon. Phalaenopsis pulcherrima can thrive in areas with more humus but is thus in strong competition with other plants.
Although the rock is fairly steep and vertical, it did not prevent the plants to fix firmly and thrive in full sun. Note the large white patches on the rocks with remnants of roots. This corresponds to a location where plants disappeared being either washed away by the monsoon, or most certainly collected to be sold.
The plants grow in number and fill the cavities!