Pelatantheria insectifera (Rchb.f.) Ridl.

 Pelatantheria insectifera Ridl., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 32: 373 (1896).

Pelatantheria insectifera Ridl., Photo by Azman Harun

Family:

Orchidaceae.

Synonym Name: 

Sarcanthus insectifer Rchb.f.

VietNam Name:

Bạt lan ruồi, Môi râu ruồi

English Name:

The Insect-Bearing Pelatanthera

Description: 

Orchid. The stem is 10-15 cm high, the leaves are short and thick, the flower cluster has 1-3 flowers, the flower size is 1.5 cm, blooming in the Fall-Winter.

Distribution:

Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam (Sìn Hồ, Lai châu, Lạng Sơn, Hà Nội (Sơn Tây), Ninh Bình), West Himalaya.

Ecological:

Occuring in broadleaf, evergreen, lowland forests on limestone rocks and bushes as a miniature sized, hot to warm growing, monopodial epiphyte or lithophyte-terrestrial at elevations of 250 to 1200 m.

Cultivation:

Miniature orchid rare in cultivation, with vigorous vegetation, requires high luminosity, also some hours of direct sun in the morning, medium-high temperatures, 22-30 °C in summer, slightly cooler in winter with lowest night values preferably not less than 14 °C, high humidity, 70-85%, and constant, good, ventilation. It needs frequent and abundant waterings and nebulisations, utilizing rainwater, demineralised or from reverse osmosis, to be done in the morning in order to allow the plant to dry up before evening. The fertilizations, during the period of active vegetation, are to be done preferably with hydrosoluble balanced products, with microelements, at half of the dosage suggested on the package, to be alternated with the waterings in way to avoid accumulation of salts at the roots.

Refs:

Averyanov, L.V. & al. (2016). New and rare orchids (Orchidaceae) in the flora of Cambodia and Laos Turczaninowia 19: 5-58.

Mostaph, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Averyanov, L.V. & Averyanova, A.L. (2003). Updated Checklist of the Orchids of Vietnam: 1-101. Vietnam National University Publishing House, Hanoi.