Dendrobium is a
genus of mostly
epiphytic and
lithophyticorchids in the
family Orchidaceae. It is a very large genus, containing more than 1,800 species that are found in diverse habitats throughout much of
south,
east and
southeast Asia, including
China,
Japan,
India, the
Philippines,
Indonesia,
Australia,
New Guinea,
Vietnam and many of the islands of the
Pacific. Orchids in this genus have roots that creep over the surface of trees or rocks, rarely having their roots in soil. Up to six leaves develop in a tuft at the tip of a shoot and from one to a large number of flowers are arranged along an unbranched flowering stem. Several attempts have been made to separate Dendrobium into smaller genera, but most have not been accepted by the
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.
Description
Dendrobium species are mostly
epiphytic, or
lithophytic although a few species are
terrestrial. They are
sympodialherbs with cylindrical roots usually arising from the base of a
pseudobulb. The pseudobulbs, when present, are hard, sometimes cane-like, cylindrical or cone-shaped and more or less covered with the bases of the leaves. There are from one to many leaves arranged in two ranks, the leaves varying in shape from linear to oblong, sometimes cylindrical but never channelled or grooved. They are usually much longer than wide and last for only a single season.[3][4][5]
Between one and a large number of
resupinate or non-resupinate flowers are arranged along an unbranched flowering stem and may be short or long-lived. The flowers may be white, green, yellow, or pink to purple, often with contrasting colours in the
labellum. The
sepals and
petals are usually free from and more or less similar to each other but markedly different from the labellum. The labellum is more or less egg-shaped, with the narrower end towards the base and flanks the
column. There is often a
callus consisting of narrow, parallel ridges, in the centre of the labellum.[3][4][5]
Taxonomy and naming
The genus Dendrobium was first formally described in 1799 by
Olof Swartz and the description was published in Nova Acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis.[1][6] The name Dendrobium is derived from the
ancient Greek words dendron meaning "tree" and bios meaning "life", referring to the epiphytic habit of most species.[6][7]
In 1981,
Friedrich Brieger reclassified all
terete-leaved dendrobiums from
Australia and
New Guinea into a new genus, Dockrillia and in 2002
David Jones and
Mark Clements separated the genus into smaller genera, including Thelychiton, Tropilis, Vappodes and Winika but all of these genera are regarded as
synonyms by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.[1]
Sections
In 2009, the online Flora of China divided the genus into the following sections:[8]
Orchids in the genus Dendrobium 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.[citation needed]
Uses
Use in horticulture
Dendrobium is abbreviated as Den. by the
Royal Horticultural Society.[9] Some species are in great demand by orchid lovers. This has resulted in numerous varieties and
hybrids, such as the
noble dendrobium (Den. nobile) breeds, which have greatly extended the range of colors of the original plant from the
Himalayas. The flowers of
Cuthbertson's dendrobium (Den. cuthbertsonii) have been reported to last up to ten months each.[citation needed]
Many Dendrobium species are known to vigorously remove
toluene and
xylene from the air.[10]
Several hybrids in this genus have been registered and named after notable persons and institutions:
The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that Dendrobium canaliculatum was called "yamberin" by the Indigenous People of Queensland, Australia and that "The bulbous stems, after being deprived of the old leaves are edible (Thozet)."[14]
In culture
Many species and
cultivars of this genus are well-known
floral emblems and have been figured in artwork. Among the former are:
The Cooktown orchid was figured on Australian
stamps in 1968 and 1998, and flowers of several Dendrobium greges are depicted on the
obverse side of the
Singapore Orchid Series currency notes issued between 1967 and 1976:
^
ab"Dendrobium". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
^
abSwartz, Olof (1799).
"Dianome Epidendri Generis Linn". Nova Acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis. 6: 82. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
^Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, synonyms, and Etymology. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 1350.
ISBN9781482250640.
^Soediono, Noes, Arditti, Joseph and Soediono, Rubismo. Kimilsungia: How an Indonesian Orchid Became a Revered Symbol in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea After Its Name was Changed. Plant Science Bulletin 75 3 pp. 103-113
Clements, M.A. (1989): Catalogue of Australian Orchidaceae. Australian Orchid Research1: 45–64.
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.
Burke, J.M., Bayly, M.J., Adams, P.B., Ladiges, P.Y.: (2008) Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Dendrobium (Orchidaceae), with emphasis on the Australian section Dendrocoryne, and implications for generic classification. Australian Systematic Botany21: 1–14.
Abstract