What's this phalaenopsis doing?

[RandomGemini]

It's a pretty good thought! You would think that they would be individual genus because the flowers distinctly different in shape. I think that was the primary identifying difference, but, genetically, they're just a Phal with a different growth pattern for the flowers.

[Leafmite]

This is just a keiki. It is not a terminal spike, just a keiki. This might be a Phal that, due to genetics, is more prone to creating keikis or this might be a one-time deal, due to conditions that favored a keiki instead of flowers. The fun part about this is that, if all goes well, you will soon have two Phals.

[Raqsharqi]

"While many Phalaenopsis inflorescences tend to gracefully arch, those of Doritis are stiffly erect, an adaptation resulting from their terrestrial habitat" is what I see when I look up Doritis. So even if they are technically both in the phalaenopsis alliance, if this is a hybrid with one of the parents the Indian, terrestrial Doritis and the other the tree loving phalaenopsis, couldn't that offer some explanation? The plant looks otherwise pretty healthy, so I don't think this is the result of a virus. If it WERE a sick plant, I'd expect the other phals in my greenhouse would be exhibiting the same growth pattern by now...like one kindergarten kid infects all the others in the class. Phals don't normally have leaves on spikes, and that's the thing that keeps me puzzled.

[RandomGemini]

No, I don't think so. I think Leafmite is correct, it's just a keiki. There are phals with a terrestrial habit, but the only difference between the and the tree growing sort, is that they tend to lean over onto their side when potted, because that is how they grow on the ground.

I googled some images of keikis on Phals and found that many of them do look like this.

[Raqsharqi]

Well, that's good news! It would be lovely to have a keiki!

[ula]

I had one like that once. I didn't know what was happening for a while, because it didn't look like a typical keike: not a plantlet with its own roots, but rather a stem with vestigial leaf here and there, finally developping a flower spike up top.

[bil]

To me it just looks like a normal flower spike with large leaves/bracts whatever the tech term for the tiny leaves on a normal phal spike is. It looks like a flower at the top.

It's possibly a mutant unless there is a recognised strain of phal whose spikes look like this.

---------- Post added at 01:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:55 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Raqsharqi

Well, that's good news! It would be lovely to have a keiki!

Don't think it's a keiki, just a spike.

[Raqsharqi]

I'll post photos as things change. I appreciate all the input. It may be a mutant, who knows?

[Stray59]

I agree with Bil and some of the others - the last photo you posted, of the tip of the spike, looks like a normal bloom bud forming - I think you just have a spike with very well formed adventitious leaves - they are particularly large, but the tip is obviously not trying to form a kieki - I am going to postulate that it will not have a large amount of blooms, probably just a couple or three. If your next spike forms oddly, I think I would test it as Phalae's are very heavily virus-ed, due to some pretty nasty infections from foreign markets.
Otherwise, you have a very interesting plant, doing something very interesting.....keep us posted, to see who is right!!!
Have a great day!

[Leafmite]

It will be interesting to see what happens. Please do keep us informed.
I have grown plants for about forty years and I've often had plants do something unexpected now and then and then never do it again. Then there are the plants that are genetically different from the others in their families due to a mutation in genetics (ex. some strawberries form runners while others do not). I think one of the reasons I have found the hobby of growing plants so fascinating is that they never fail to surprise me.