Vanda is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 in the orchid family (Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

) which, although not large (about fifty species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

), is one of the most important florally.

Description

The name "Vanda" is derived from the Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 name for the species Vanda tessellata.

These mostly epiphytic

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

, but sometimes lithophytic

Lithophyte

Lithophytes are a type of plant that grows in or on rocks. Lithophytes feed off moss, nutrients in rain water, litter, and even their own dead tissue....

 or terrestrial

Terrestrial plant

A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. Other types of plants are aquatic , epiphytic , lithophytes and aerial ....

 orchids are distributed in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Himalaya, SE Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

, southern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and northern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

The genus has a monopodial

Monopodial

Vascular plants with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly...

 growth habit with leaves that are highly variable according to habitat

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

. Some have flat, typically broad, ovoid leaves (strap-leaves), while others have cylindrical (terete), fleshy leaves and are adapted to dry periods. The stems of these orchids vary considerably in size; there are miniature plants and plants with a length of several meters.

There are few to many flattened flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s growing on a lateral inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

. Most show a yellow-brown color with brown markings, but they also appear in white, green, orange, red and burgundy shades. The lip

Labellum

Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...

 has a small spur. Vandas usually bloom every few months and the flowers last for two to three weeks.

This genus is one of the five most horticulturally important orchid genera, because it has some of the most magnificent flowers to be found in the entire orchid family. This has contributed much to the work of hybridists producing flowers for the cut flower market. Vanda coerulea is one of the few botanical orchids with blue flowers (actually a very bluish purple), a property much appreciated for producing interspecific and intergeneric hybrids. Vanda dearei is one of the chief sources of yellow color in Vanda hybrids.

Vanda Miss Joaquim

Vanda Miss Joaquim

Vanda Miss Joaquim , also known as the Singapore Orchid and the Princess Aloha Orchid is a hybrid orchid cultivar that is Singapore's national flower....

 is the National Flower of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

Many Vanda orchids (especially Vanda coerulea) are endangered, because of habitat destruction. The export of wild-collected specimens of the Blue Orchid (Vanda coerulea) and other wild Vandas is prohibited worldwide, as all orchids are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Species

• Vanda alpina (Himalaya to China - S. Yunnan
  Yunnan
  Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
  
  ).
• Vanda arbuthnotiana (India).
• Vanda arcuata (Indonesia - Sulawesi).
• Vanda bensonii
  Vanda bensonii
  Vanda bensonii is a species of orchid found from Assam to Thailand....
  
  (Assam to Thailand).
• Vanda bicolor (Bhutan).
• Vanda bidupensis (Vietnam).
• Vanda brunnea (China - Yunnan to Indo-China).
• Vanda celebica (Indonesia – Sulawesi).
• Vanda chlorosantha (Bhutan).
• Vanda coerulea
  Vanda coerulea
  Vanda coerulea, commonly known as Blue Vanda or Autumn Lady's Tresses, is a species of orchid endemic to Assam and neighbouring Khasi hills with its range extending to China . It is known as Bhatou phul in Assamese, Kwaklei in Manipuri, October in Mizo and Vandaar in Sanskrit...
  
  : "Blue Orchid" (Assam to China - S. Yunnan)
• Vanda coerulescens
  Vanda coerulescens
  Vanda coerulescens is a species of orchid found from Arunachal Pradesh to China ....
  
  (Arunachal Pradesh to China - S. Yunnan).
• Vanda concolor (S. China to Vietnam).
• Vanda cristata
  Vanda cristata
  Vanda cristata is a species of orchid found from the Himalaya to China ....
  
  (Himalaya to China - NW. Yunnan).
• Vanda dearei (Borneo).
• Vanda denisoniana
  Vanda denisoniana
  Vanda denisoniana is a species of orchid found from China to northern Indochina....
  
  (China - Yunnan to N. Indo-China).
• Vanda devoogtii (Sulawesi).
• Vanda flabellata (Rolfe ex Downie) Christenson, 1985
• Vanda foetida (S. Sumatra).
• Vanda furva (Java, Maluku).
• Vanda fuscoviridis (S. China to Vietnam).
• Vanda griffithii (E. Himalaya).
• Vanda hastifera (Borneo).
  • Vanda hastifera var. gibbsiae (N. Borneo).
  • Vanda hastifera var. hastifera (Borneo).
• Vanda helvola (W. Malaysia to Philippines).
• Vanda hindsii (Papuasia to N. Queensland).
• Vanda insignis
  Vanda insignis
  Vanda insignis is a species of orchid endemic to the Lesser Sunda Islands....
  
  (Lesser Sunda Is.).
• Vanda jainii (Assam).
• Vanda javierae
  Vanda javierae
  Vanda javierae, a type of Vanda, belonging to the orchid family , is the only white vanda orchid in the world. It is one of the world's most rarest vanda orchids and is an endangered species....
  
  (Philippines - Luzon).
• Vanda jennae P.O'Byrne & J.J.Verm., 2005
• Vanda lamellata
  Vanda lamellata
  Vanda lamellata is a species of orchid found from the Japanese Ryukyu Islands , Taiwan , to the Philippines, and northern Malaysian Borneo....
  
  (Taiwan (to Philippines, North Borneo)
  • Vanda lamellata var. boxallii
  • Vanda lamellata var. calayana (synonym of the accepted name Vanda lamellata var. lamellata).
  • Vanda lamellata var. flava
  • Vanda lamellata var. lamellata
  • Vanda lamellata var. remediosae (synonym of the accepted name Vanda lamellata var. boxallii Rchb.f. )
• Vanda leucostele (N. & W. Sumatra).
• Vanda lilacina (China - Yunnan to Indo-China).
• Vanda limbata
  Vanda limbata
  Vanda limbata is a species of orchid native to Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands and the Philippines....
  
  (Java, Lesser Sunda Is., Philippines - Mindanao).
• Vanda lindenii (Maluku). (synonym of the accepted name Vanda furva (L.) Lindl. )
• Vanda liouvillei (Assam to Indo-China).
• Vanda lombokensis (Lesser Sunda Is.).
• Vanda luzonica
  Vanda luzonica
  Vanda luzonica is a species of vanda, a flower of the orchid family. It is a rare type of orchid and is endangered. Vanda luzonica is named after the island of Luzon in the Philippines....
  
  (Philippines - Luzon).
• Vanda merrillii (Philippines).
  • Vanda merrillii var. immaculata (synonym of the accepted name Vanda merrillii Ames & Quisumb. )
  • Vanda merrillii var. Rotorii (synonym of the accepted name Vanda merrillii Ames & Quisumb. )
• Vanda metusalae P.O'Byrne & J.J.Verm. (2008)
• Vanda petersiana (Myanmar).
• Vanda pumila (Nepal to Hainan and N. Sumatra).
• Vanda punctata (Pen. Malaysia).
• Vanda roeblingiana (Philippines - Luzon).
• Vanda sanderiana (now synonym of Euanthe sanderiana
  Euanthe sanderiana
  Euanthe sanderiana is a flower of the orchid family. It is commonly called Waling-waling in the Philippines and is also called Sander's Euanthe, after Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, a noted orchidologist...
  
  )
• Vanda scandens
  Vanda scandens
  Vanda scandens is a species of plant in the Orchidaceae family. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
  
  (Borneo, Philippines - Mindanao).
• Vanda spathulata (India -Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka).
• Vanda stangeana (India - Arunachal Pradesh to Assam).
• Vanda subconcolor (China - SW. Yunnan to Hainan).
  • Vanda subconcolor var. disticha (Hainan). (synonym of the accepted name Vanda subconcolor Tang & F.T.Wang , 1974)
• Vanda sumatrana (Sumatra).
• Vanda tessellata
  Vanda tessellata
  -Description:Vanda tessellata is a species of orchid occurring from the Indian subcontinent to Indochina. It is a medicinal epiphytic perennial, stem 30-60 cm long, stout, scandent by the stout, simple or branching aerial roots. Leaves succulent, 15-20 cm, long, linear, recurved, complicate....
  
  (Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China).
• Vanda testacea
  Vanda testacea
  -Description:Vanda testacea is a species of orchid occurring from the Indian subcontinent to Indochina. Its a epiphytic perennial, flowers in 6-20 flowered racemes, flower size is from 1 to 1.5 cm yellow flowers with a blue lip....
  
  (Indian Subcontinent to SC. China).
• Vanda thwaitesii (S.India, Sri Lanka).
• Vanda tricolor
  Vanda tricolor
  Vanda tricolor is a species of orchid occurring in Laos and from Java to Bali....
  
  (Laos, Java to Bali).
• Vanda ustii (Philippines - Luzon).
• Vanda vipanii (Myanmar).
• Vanda wightii (S. India)

Natural hybrids

• Vanda × boumaniae (V. insignis × V. limbata) (Lesser Sunda Is.).
• Vanda × charlesworthii (V. bensonii × V. coerulea) (Myanmar).
• Vanda × confusa (V. coerulescens × V. lilacina) (Myanmar).
• Vanda × Miss Joaquim (V. hookeriana × V. teres) (Singapore).

Intergeneric hybrids

• Aeridovanda (Aerides × Vanda)
• Aeridovanisia (Aerides × Luisia × Vanda)
• Alphonsoara (Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Andrewara (Arachnis × Renanthera × Trichoglottis × Vanda)
• Aranda (Arachnis × Vanda)
• Ascocenda (Ascocentrum × Vanda)
• Ascovandoritis (Ascocentrum × Doritis × Vanda)
• Bokchoonara (Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Bovornara (Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Burkillara (Aerides × Arachnis × Vanda)
• Charlieara (Rhynchostylis × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Christieara (Aerides × Ascocentrum × Vanda)
• Darwinara (Ascocentrum × Neofinetia × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Debruyneara (Ascocentrum × Luisia × Vanda)
• Devereu×ara (Ascocentrum × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Eastonara (Ascocentrum × Gastrochilus × Vanda)
• Fujiora (Ascocentrum × Trichoglottis × Vanda)
• Goffara (Luisia × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Hawaiiara (Renanthera × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Hagerara (Doritis × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Himoriara (Ascocentrum × Phalaenopsis × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Holttumara (Arachnis × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Isaoara (Aerides × Ascocentrum × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Joannara (Renanthera × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Kagawara (Ascocentrum × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Knappara (Ascocentrum × Rhynchostylis × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Knudsonara (Ascocentrum × Neofinetia × Renanthera × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Leeara (Arachnis × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Luisanda (Luisia × Vanda)
• Luivanetia (Luisia × Neofinetia × Vanda)
• Lewisara (Aerides × Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Vanda)
• Maccoyara (Aerides × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Macekara (Arachnis × Phalaenopsis × Renanthera × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Micholitzara (Aerides × Ascocentrum × Neofinetia × Vanda)
• Moirara (Phalaenopsis × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Mokara (Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Vanda)
• Nakamotoara (Ascocentrum × Neofinetia × Vanda)
• Nobleara (Aerides × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Okaara (Ascocentrum × Renanthera × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Onoara (Ascocentrum × Renanthera × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Opsisanda (Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Pageara (Ascocentrum × Luisia × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Pantapaara (Ascoglossum × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Paulara (Ascocentrum × Doritis × Phalaenopsis × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Pehara (Aerides × Arachnis × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Pereiraara (Aerides × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Phalaerianda (Aerides × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Raganara (Renanthera × Trichoglottis × Vanda)
• Ramasamyara (Arachnis × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Renafinanda (Neofinetia × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Renanda (Arachnis × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Renantanda (Renanthera × Vanda)
• Rhynchovanda (Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Ridleyare (Arachnis × Trichoglottis × Vanda)
• Robinaria (Aerides × Ascocentrum × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Ronnyara (Aerides × Ascocentrum × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Sanjumeara (Aerides × Neofinetia × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Sarcovanda (Sarcochilus × Vanda)
• Shigeuraara (Ascocentrum × Ascoglossum × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Stamariaara (Ascocentrum × Phalaenopsis × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Sutingara (Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Phalaenopsis × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Teohara (Arachnis × Renanthera × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Trevorara (Arachnis × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Trichovanda (Trichoglottis × Vanda)
• Vascostylis (Ascocentrum × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Vandachnis (Arachnis × Vandopsis)
• Vancampe (Acampe × Vanda)
• Vandaenopsis (Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Vandaeranthes (Aeranthes × Vanda)
• Vandewegheara (Ascocentrum × Doritis × Phalaenopsis × Vanda)
• Vandofinetia (Neofinetia × Vanda)
• Vandofinides (Aerides × Neofinetia × Vanda)
• Vandoritis (Doritis × Vanda)
• Vanglossum (Ascoglossum × Vanda)
• Wilkinsara (Ascocentrum × Vanda × Vandopsis)
• Yapara (Phalaenopsis × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)
• Yusofara (Arachnis × Ascocentrum × Renanthera × Vanda)
• Yonezawaara (Neofinetia × Rhynchostylis × Vanda)

External links

• Breeding in Vanda Breeding in Vanda
• Vanda Orchid Forum
• Green Culture Singapore Forum
• Vanda Miss Joaquim