Sign in Start free
Species library › Phalaenopsis › Phalaenopsis mentawaiensis
Orchids Partly documented

Phalaenopsis mentawaiensis

A small, warm-growing epiphytic moth orchid endemic to the Mentawai Islands off West Sumatra, where it grows on tall trees at 0–100 m. It was split from Phalaenopsis violacea in 2014, and its slightly fragrant flowers are fuller and larger, closer to P. bellina. Grow it hot, humid and shaded all year, like its close relatives.

Phalaenopsis mentawaiensis
Photo: Orchi, 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 on tall trees in lowland rainforest on the Mentawai Islands. Like P. violacea and P. bellina, it most likely grows in shade on trunks and branches in humid forest, often near water, though no detailed microhabitat notes were found for this species.

Recorded at 0–100 m above sea level, so it is a strictly lowland, hot-growing plant with no cool season.

Indonesia: Sumatra (Mentawai Islands)

🔒 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

Grow Phalaenopsis mentawaiensis? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis amboinensis Phalaenopsis equestris Phalaenopsis amabilis Phalaenopsis aphrodite Phalaenopsis lobbii Phalaenopsis schilleriana Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana Phalaenopsis stuartiana Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica Phalaenopsis rimestadiana Phalaenopsis venosa Phalaenopsis gigantea All 99 →

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.