Pinalia xanthocheila showing off

Widespread from Myanmar and southern Thailand to Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines in the provinces of Aurora, Laguna, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, and Zambales (all on Luzon), Pinalia xanthocheila is an epiphyte (sometimes also lithophytic) on riverine or mixed dipterocarp forests at elevations from near sea level to 1600 m, in part-shade to bright light, but not full sun. These plants appear to have an affinity on growing either on thin layers of humus deposits or mosses, or on the root masses of epiphytic ferns. The plants usually flower twice a year, between January to March, and then again anytime from September to November.

In contrast to typical xanthocheilas, the side lobes on the labellum are greenish-yellow instead of red. Indeed, the absence of anthocyanin pigments on the flowers can be construed as albinism, but thin margins of red can still be found on the tips of the pale green, reflexing bracts. A healthy plant can produce up to 6 active inflorescences at once, each with around 20 flowers. Each flower is 1.5 cm across and odorless, although some populations appear to have fragrant blooms. The flowers last for an average of four days, a bit longer during cooler or rainier days.

This plant was originally described as Eria xanthocehila by Henry Ridley in 1907, but was transferred by Jim Cootes and myself to Pinalia in 2009. The species name was derived from two Greek words- xanthos (yellow) and cheilos (lip), an obvious allusion to the yellow labellum. The species name should be pronounced as 'santho-khei-la', and not 'santho-chih-luh', although I am well aware of the difficulty of many English-speaking peoples in pronouncing Latin- and Greek-derived words.

Photo below shows the positioning of the inflorescences, appearing from opposite the leaf axils. Upon the termination of the blooms, the rachises wither and fall off, leaving permanent scars on the pseudobulbs.

My plant is grown on a slab which in time was eventually colonized by a Haplopteris ensiformis, an epiphytic fern with very narrow fronds and new growths which are completely red. Pinalia xanthocheila is allowed to dry out in between waterings, up to 3 days at times, and given regular doses of fertilizers. However, to ensure that water gets past the root masses of the fern, I often dunk the entire slab on a pail of water, with fertilizers, for about 10 seconds before hanging it again. This ritual is done once a week.

Members of the genus Pinalia are not often found in cultivation, except in specialist collections. But these are very easy and worry-free orchids that provide a welcome break from the usual, horticulturally important orchid genera.