Chiloschista javanica - Orchid Board

MattWoelfsen · #1 09-23-2017, 10:38 AM

Sometimes when buying orchids on eBay you get more than you purchased! I bought two plants from eBay vendor naomim320, out of Bogalusa, Louisiana.

With my new orchids, naomim320 enclosed a little leafless orchid--it does have a tiny leaf! But the roots are large. I have not grown this kind of orchid before.

According to what I have read on the Internet, this plant comes from Java and surrounding areas. It likes heat, bright light, high humidity. So I am growing it in my warmest and brightest location.

Anyone have an opinion on how to grow this one?

Pattywack · #2 09-23-2017, 05:57 PM

Hi Matt, nice little plant. I've no idea about growing it but I'm pretty sure Naomi would be happy to help you with any growing tips. I've purchased from her and we struck up quite the little string of conversations, lol. She is very chatty and helpful. Good luck, no doubt someone here will come along and help.

brianwstephens · #3 09-25-2017, 01:47 PM

Whoah, trippy plant! Happy growing!

naoki · #4 09-25-2017, 03:36 PM

Matt, I haven't grown this species. And I'm not so good growing Chiloschista. They grow (and flower) for a short time (1-2 years), but I can't keep them going. In my case, I'm guessing that I can't grow them warm enough. But in general, I wouldn't use sphagnum moss on the mount. There is a study of Chiloschista gas exchange. When the root is wet, it interferes with the gas exchange (for photosynthesis). So you want to keep it pretty dry (but high air humidity).

estación seca · #5 09-25-2017, 03:46 PM

Naoki, did the study mention whether there was diurnal variation in gas exchange? If so, it might be better to water them at certain times of the day.

Bud · #6 09-25-2017, 06:10 PM

I was able to grow and bloom Chiloschista parishii, I think they have the same culture.
It is not hard to take care of this kind of species.
Just pay attention to their needs ....oh and they sprout tiny leaves just before bringing flowers.... then the leaves fall off and then remain just like the ghost orchids that they are....

Here is the link:

Chiloschista parishii (Asian Ghost Orchid)

naoki · #7 09-26-2017, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

Naoki, did the study mention whether there was diurnal variation in gas exchange? If so, it might be better to water them at certain times of the day.

Good point, Estación.

Their data showed that C. usneoides showed a pattern consistent with CAM. So the gas exchange is most active after 1 hour of darkness. It is active during the night, but it gradually taper down toward the dawn. During the night, CO2 get assimilated as malate, and malate get stored in an organelle called vacuoles. During the day CO2 get released from malate, and it gets used for photosynthesis. There is a maximum capacity for the stored CO2, so near the dawn, CO2 uptake get saturated.

So, this suggests that it is probably better to water during the day, so the roots become dry before night. This is kind of opposite for CAM with leaves (water at night is probably better). In both cases, keeping the air humidity at night really high is good for CAM.

One additional thing is that lots of CAM orchids are actually facultative (e.g. Phalaenopsis); they behave like C3 when there is plenty of water (e.g. after watering), but they can behave like CAM when needed. This study doesn't say whether Chiloschista is facultative CAM or not (but it is likely that they are not facultative).

The other thing is that some plants do acclimate to the schedule of the grower. So the timing of photosynthesis could be influenced by the environments. In this study, they watered every morning.

Here is the citation:
Cockburn, W., Goh, C.J. and Avadhani, P.N., 1985. Photosynthetic Carbon Assimilation in a Shootless Orchid, Chiloschista usneoides (DON) LDL A Variant on Crassulacean Acid Metabolism. Plant Physiology, 77(1), pp.83-86. (you might be able to get pdf from this link)

MattWoelfsen · #8 09-26-2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naoki

Matt, I haven't grown this species. And I'm not so good growing Chiloschista. They grow (and flower) for a short time (1-2 years), but I can't keep them going. In my case, I'm guessing that I can't grow them warm enough. But in general, I wouldn't use sphagnum moss on the mount. There is a study of Chiloschista gas exchange. When the root is wet, it interferes with the gas exchange (for photosynthesis). So you want to keep it pretty dry (but high air humidity).

Thank you for your advice. I am growing this in a humidity dome, so I have the humidity part covered. I’ll work on removing Sphagnum moss.