Christmas Orchid
Calanthe triplicata
In Australia, it is known as the Christmas Orchid because its brilliant white flowers reliably burst into bloom during the heat of December and January.
- Scientific name
- Calanthe triplicata
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Asparagales › Orchidaceae › Calanthe
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Shaded floors of wet rainforests, gallery forests, and damp sclerophyll forests.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis), supported by soil nutrients absorbed via symbiotic fungi.
- Range
- Australia, Southeast Asia, India, Pacific Islands, Madagascar
- Size
- Flowering stems 40 to 100 cm tall; leaves 25 to 50 cm long
- Lifespan
- Perennial (can live for decades through underground pseudobulbs)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss, illegal poaching by collectors, and competition from invasive weeds.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Observe this delicate orchid without touching, as its leaves and flowers are easily damaged. Avoid trampling the surrounding soil, which can destroy the fragile mycorrhizal fungal networks the plant depends on. Never harvest wild orchids.
Calanthe triplicata commonly known as the common Christmas orchid is a plant in the orchid family and is native to Oceania, Asia, and the islands of eastern Africa. It is a terrestrial orchid that grows in clumps with crowded pseudobulbs, dark green corrugated leaves and up to forty white flowers. The sepals and petals are similar to each other and the labellum has three spreading lobes and a yellow callus.
Photo: Oleg Kosterin, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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