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Phalaenopsis amabilis –
moth orchid
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Scrapbook: |
51 |
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Date: |
1886 |
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Distribution: |
Malay archipelago to New Guinea and
North-east Australia |
This fine species was one of the first Far Eastern orchids to be
described. Georg Everard Rumph (known as Rumphius), the
blind seer of Ambon, described it in his Herbarium Amboinense
in the eighteenth century. During Victorian times, many fine ‘moth’
orchids (Phalaenopsis) were introduced to cultivation.
John Day painted over 30 species in his scrapbooks. Phalaenopsis
amabilis was very popular, with one specimen selling for 15
guineas in 1847, the equivalent of nearly £1000 at today’s
prices!
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