dendrobium

For the mining town, see Dendrobium, New South Wales. For the Mobile Suit Gundam unit, see RX-78 GP-03 Dendrobium

Dendrobium
Pink Rock Orchid, Dendrobium kingianum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta (unranked): Monocots Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Tribe: Podochilaeae Subtribe: Dendrobiinae Genus: Dendrobium Sw
Species
About 1,200; see List of Dendrobium species
Synonyms
Callista Lour. Ceratobium Pierardia Raf. (non Roxb. ex Jack: preoccupied) Thelychiton

Dendrobium is a huge genus of orchids. It was established by Olof Swartz in 1799 and today contains about 1,200 species. The genus occurs in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Borneo, Australia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New Zealand. The name is from the Greek dendron ("tree") and bios ("life"); it means "one who lives on trees", or, essentially, "epiphyte".

In 1981, Briegar reclassified all terete-leaved Dendrobiums from Australia and New Guinea into a new genus, Dockrillia. The Winika orchid from New Zealand was formerly D. cunninghamii, but has now been moved into a monotypic genus Winika. In 1989, Clements upgraded the D. speciosum complex into individual species ^[1]; similarly, the D. bigibbum complex (which contains the well-known Cooktown Orchid of Australia, D. phalaenopsis) has recently been split up.

Description

Parish's Dendrobium, Dendrobium parishii

Dendrobium species are either epiphytic, or occasionally lithophytic. They have adapted to a wide variety of habitats, from the high altitudes in the Himalayan mountains to lowland tropical forests and even to the dry climate of the Australian desert.

This genus of sympodial orchids develop pseudobulbs, which vary in length from a few centimetres (eg. Dendrobium cuthbertsonii) to two metres long (eg. Dendrobium pulchellum). Most grow into long reedlike stems. Some appear densely covered with short white or black hairs (Dendrobium infundibulum).

In selected species, the short, ovate leaves grow alternately over the whole length of the stems, in others, the leaves are bunched towards the apex of the stem (eg. Dendrobium tetragonum). The axillary inflorescence vary in length from insignificant to 1m long, and can carry from a few (1-4) (eg. Dendrobium nobile) to as many as 100 (eg. Dendrobium speciosum) flowers. Deciduous species carry their leaves for one to two years then typically flower on leafless canes, while canes of evergreen species usually flower in the second year and can continue to flower for a number of years (eg. Dendrobium densiflorum).

These orchids grow quickly throughout summer, but take a rest during winter. Dormant buds errupt into shoots from the base of the pseudobulb mainly in spring, and a few species in autumn. This is then followed by rapid growth of new roots. Reproduction isusually though seed, but a few species reproduce asexually through keikeis produced along the stem, usually after flowering and sometimes as a result of injury to the growing tip.

Selected species

• Dendrobium candidum
• Dendrobium cariniferum
• Dendrobium chrysanthum
• Dendrobium crumenatum – Pigeon Orchid, Sparrow Orchid, Bag-shaped Dendrobium, "dove orchid"
• Dendrobium cuthbertsonii – Cuthbertson's Dendrobium
• Dendrobium formosum
• Dendrobium gibsonii
• Dendrobium kingianum – Pink Rock Orchid, Captain King's Dendrobium, Pink Rock Lily (sometimes separated in Thelychiton)
• Dendrobium lindleyi – Lindley's Dendrobium (formerly D. aggregatum)
• Dendrobium lituiflorum
• Dendrobium loddigesii – Loddiges' Dendrobium
• Dendrobium nobile – Noble Dendrobium
• Dendrobium phalaenopsis – Cooktown Orchid (formerly D. bigibbum var. phalaenopsis, D. bigibbum var. superbum) - now classified as Vappodes phalaenopsis
• Dendrobium speciosum – Outstanding Dendrobium, King Orchid, Rock Lily
• Dendrobium thyrsiflorum

In horticulture

Dendrobium is commonly abbreviated as Den in horticulture. Some species are in great demand by orchid lovers. This has resulted in numerous varieties and hybrids, such as the Noble Dendrobium (D. nobile) breeds, which have greatly extended the range of colors of the original plant from the Himalayas. The flowers of Cuthbertson's Dendrobium (D. cuthbertsonii) have been reported to last up to ten months each.

While Dendrobium species may not be particularly easy to grow by novice horticulturalists, they are known to vigorously remove toluene and xylene from the air.^[2]

Several hybrids in this genus have been registered and named after notable persons and institutions:

• Dendrobium Bae Yong Jun
• Dendrobium Sccci 100th Anniversary
• Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher

Pink Dendrobium densiflorum × farmeri hybrid

Dendrobium 'Mini Brown', a horticultural hybrid

Painting of a typical Dendrobium by I. V. Passmoore, probably the hybrid cultivar 'Lucky Seven'

Dendrobium 'Margaret Thatcher'

Other uses by humans

Noble Dendrobium, Dendrobium nobile

Some Dendrobium species are grown as medical plants. The Noble Dendrobium (D. nobile) for example is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is known as shí hú (石斛) or shí hú lán (石斛兰).

Many species and cultivars of this genus are well-known floral emblems and have been figured in artwork. Among the former are:

• Dendrobium formosum (Beautiful Giant-flowered Dendrobium) – emblem of Ranong Province (Thailand)
• Dendrobium 'Kim il Sung' (Kimilsungia) – emblem of North Korea
• Dendrobium mohlianum (Mohl's Dendrobium) – emblem of Matsushima, Miyagi (Japan)
• Dendrobium nobile (Noble Dendrobium) – emblem of Sikkim (India)
• Dendrobium phalaenopsis (Cooktown Orchid, anggrek larat) – emblem of Maluku province (Indonesia) and Queensland (Australia).
• Dendrobium utile^{[verification needed]} (locally known as anggrek serat) – emblem of the Indonesian province of South East Sulawesi

The Cooktown Orchid was figured on Australian stamps in 1968 and 1998, and several Dendrobium cultivars are depicted on the obverse side of the Singapore Orchid Series currency notes issued between 1967 and 1976:

• Dendrobium 'Marjorie Ho' – S$10 [1]
• Dendrobium 'Shangri-La' – S$500 [2]
• Dendrobium 'Kimiyo Kondo' – S$1000 [3]

The Golden-bow Dendrobium (D. chrysotoxum), colloquially called "Fried-egg Orchid" was one of the species grown by the fictional private detective and orchid fancier Nero Wolfe, and plays a role in The Final Deduction.

Footnotes

References

• Clements, M.A. (1989): Catalogue of Australian Orchidaceae. Australian Orchid Research 1: 1–62. PDF fulltext
• Wolverton, B.C. (1996): How to Grow Fresh Air. New York: Penguin Books.
• Lavarack, B., Harris, W., Stocker, G. (2006): Dendrobium and Its Relatives. Australia: Simon & Schuster Ltd.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dendrobium

• Dendrobium photos
• Multikey System for Identification of Dendrobium species
• Orchid Picture Gallery