Plant Category: Sulawesi

Alocasia ‘Ninja’ plants thrive in a very humid environment making these plants ideally suited to growing inside a terrarium, vivarium, or bottle garden.  However, terrariums and bottle gardens are not universally the same, different enclosures will provide contrasting growing conditions.  When choosing a terrarium and deciding on a location to cultivate Alocasia ‘Ninja’, remember that these plants won’t be happy in a shaded environment – Alocasia ‘Ninja’ require bright but indirect light to be able to thrive. 

Asplenium nidus is a gorgeous fern from Australia, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Christmas Island, and the Philippines.  In the wild, Asplenium nidus often grows as an epiphytic fern, making its home on the branches and trunks of trees in rainforests.  Epiphytic plants are different from parasitic plants.  Epiphytic ferns grow upon another plant but they don’t steal any nutrients from their host plants; epiphytes simply use their host to raise themselves up to a more profitable growing position where they enjoy improved light levels, moisture, and humidity.

Phalaenopsis celebensis is a miniature to small sized, epiphytic orchid species.  This orchid species is endemic to the Sulawesi Island, in Indonesia.  The Sulawesi Island was formerly known as Celebes, which is where the specific epithet of this orchid’s name – ‘celebensis’ comes from.  Plants produce attractive leaves with silver, grey-green, and dark green colourings, mottled with dark purple-blue-black variegation.  This orchid species produces long flowering stems, which are adorned with a great many white flowers that resemble moths or butterflies in flight.

Bulbophyllum sessile is a miniature orchid species.  This epiphytic orchid originates from a number of places in South East Asia, including: Fiji, Burma, Java, Laos, Malaysia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.  This little orchid can be seen growing on the small, twiggy branches of trees, it’s usually found growing in areas of evergreen forest.

Bulbophyllum sessile flourishes in cool and intermediate, to warm temperatures. 

Humata heterophylla is a very handsome fern.  I must admit that this one of my absolute favourite ferns – I simply love Humata heterophylla’s leaf-like fronds.  This is a tender, epiphytic fern species, that can be grown mounted onto a piece of cork, wood, or a branch.  Humata heterophylla thrives when raised in a very humid environment, in semi-shaded or shaded growing conditions.