Aerides quinquevulnera and its color

variations
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Published November 6, 2016, 12:05 AM

By Jim Cootes and Ronny Boos

The islands of the Philippines are graced with many wonderful orchid species. Some of these
species have large flowers and others have small blooms. The subject for this article has
blossoms which could be termed as intermediate in size, at about 2.5 cm in diameter. Then
again size is relative, and different people have different ideas about what is large and what is
small. The choice is yours.

Aerides quinquevulnera (Jim Cootes)

The genus Aerides was established by João de Loureiro, in 1790, in his Flora Cochinchinensis.
The generic epithet alludes to “children of the air” and refers to the epiphytic habit of this
magnificent genus.

Aerides quinquevulnera was first named by the renowned English taxonomist/botanist Dr. John
Lindley in 1838, in his Sertum Orchidaceum. The specific epithet means “five wounds,” and
refers to the purplish-colored tips of the sepals and petals.

A species that is widely spread will often have numerous color variations and Aerides
quinquevulnera is a fine example of this phenomenon. This species is found throughout the
Philippines, and is also known to occur in New Guinea, where it is rare. Well-known English
taxonomist Peter O’Byrne, has also found this species on Sulawesi, where he states that the
flowers are larger and often without any perfume.

The plants usually grow on the trunks and outer branches of large forest trees, where they
receive bright light for much of the day. These exposed positions also have constant air
movement, and high humidity. For such a widely spread species, it is known to occur at a wide
elevation range. The different color forms are known to occur at altitudes of between sea-level
and around 2,000 meters.

In the 1984 magnum opus on Philippine orchid species, Orchidiana Philippiniana, Professor
Helen L. Valmayor, lists 6 color forms of this species. These are:

Aerides quinquevulnera fma. farmeri is the pure white form of the species and is only known
from the islands north of Luzon. It seems that this is the white form of the recently described
Aerides magnifica.
Aerides quinquevulnera var. purpurata (Jim Cootes)

Aerides quinquevulnera var. flava has yellow sepals and petals with the usual reddish-purple
spotting. This variety has been found on the east coast of central Luzon and has recently been
found on the island of Leyte, in the Visayan Sea.

Aerides quinquevulnera var. marginata has never been seen by the authors. The description for
this variety states that the “flowers are greenish-white with red-violet stripes.” The provenance
of this variety is unknown.

Aerides quinquevulnera var. punctata is heavily marked with purplish spotting. The exact
provenance of this variety is unknown.
Aerides quinquevulnera var. punctata (Dr. Nelson Geraldino)

Aerides quinquevulnera var. purpurata is also heavily spotted, but the spotting has merged
giving the appearance of solid purple blooms. Of all the varieties this one has the widest
distribution, having been recorded from the provinces of Quezon, Rizal and Zambales on Luzon;
the island of Mindoro; and the island of Negros Oriental in the Visayan Sea.

Aerides quinquevulnera var. schadenbergiana is a variety, which the authors have never seen.
The description for this variety states that the blooms are “creamy-white, with purple-red spots
on the border.” This variety is only known from the second largest Philippine island of
Mindanao.
Aerides quinquevulnera var. flava (Ronny Boos)

The authors have also seen a stunning all yellow-green form of this species, with a pure white
labellum, which was found on one of the islands of the central Philippines.

Clearly defining these color forms is very difficult, and a number of combinations can be seen in
the one flower. What it all boils down to is the wonderful variation that can be seen within a
species.

Tags: Aerides quinquevulnera and its color variations, Flora Cochinchinensis, genus Aerides,
Manila Bulletin, mb.com.ph, orchid species, Philippines