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Species library › Bulbophyllum › Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis
Orchids Partly documented

Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis

A giant epiphytic Bulbophyllum from New Guinea. Each small pseudobulb carries one thick, drooping leaf 120–180 cm long. Tight clusters of 12–20 reddish-brown flowers, each covered in hair-like papillae and smelling of rotting meat, sit at the base of the plant to attract flies. It needs constant warmth, shade, high humidity and year-round water.

Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis
Photo: C T Johansson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte in dark, moist lowland rainforest. Its heavy, pendent leaves hang from trunks and larger branches in deep shade.

Literature gives below 500 m. The one GBIF record used here was assigned 1431 m, which is probably a coordinate or elevation artefact (see disagreements).

New Guinea (Indonesian Papua)New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.