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''Dendrobium bigibbum'', commonly known as the Cooktown orchid or mauve butterfly orchid, is an
epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
or
lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
in the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Orchidaceae. It has cylindrical
pseudobulb The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and ...
s, each with between three and five green or purplish leaves and arching flowering stems with up to twenty, usually lilac-purple flowers. It occurs in
tropical North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Cou ...
, Australia and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
. There are four varieties of this orchid, each of which has previously been considered a separate species.


Description

''Dendrobium bigibbum'' is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with green or purplish pseudobulbs long and wide, often with purplish edges. Each pseudobulb has between three and five egg-shaped leaves long and wide. The arching flowering stems are long with between two and twenty lilac-purple, rarely bluish or pinkish flowers. The flowers are
resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...
, long and wide, the size depending on the variety. The
sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s are oblong to egg-shaped, long and wide. The
dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...
sepal is upright or turned back and the
lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle * Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral co ...
sepals spread widely apart from each other. The petals are broadly egg-shaped, long and wide. The labellum is long, wide and has three lobes. The side lobes are upright and the middle lobe has four or five ridges along its midline and a hairy patch in the middle. Flowering occurs from February to July.


Taxonomy and naming

''Dendrobium bigibbum'' was first formally described in 1852 by
John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...
and the description was published in '' Paxton's Flower Garden''. Four varieties of this species are recognised by the
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...
(WCSP): * ''Dendrobium bigibbum'' var. ''bigibbum'', the mauve butterfly orchid, that has a white spot in the centre of the labellum and occurs at low altitudes on
Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
, some
Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...
and southern
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
; * ''Dendrobium bigibbum'' var. ''compactum'', (
C.T.White Cyril Tenison ("C.T.") White (17 August 1890 – 15 August 1950) was an Australian botanist. Early life White was born in Brisbane to Henry White, a trade broker, and Louisa ''nee'' Bailey. He attended school at South Brisbane State School, an ...
) Peter B.Adams
a lithophyte with a narrow distribution at an elevation of in the wet tropics; * ''Dendrobium bigibbum'' var. ''schoederianum'' ( Rchb.f. ex W.Watson) Peter B.Adams that has variably coloured flowers and only grows on Larat Island in the
Tanimbar The Tanimbar Islands, also called ''Timur Laut'', are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The largest and most central of the islands is Yamdena; others include Selaru to the southwest of Yamdena, Larat and F ...
group; * ''Dendrobium bigibbum'' var. ''superbum'', Rchb.f. the Cooktown orchid, that has the largest flowers in the group but which lack the white spot in the centre of the labellum and occurs between
Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...
and Mount Molloy. The taxonomy of this species and of its varieties is confused, especially with respect to the scientific name of the Cooktown orchid. On 19 November 1959, the Cooktown Orchid (''Dendrobium bigibbum'' var. ''phalaenopsis'') was proclaimed as the floral emblem of Queensland. (''Dendrobium bigibbum'' var. ''phalaenopsis'' had been originally named in 1883 by
Frederick Manson Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was bo ...
, based on Robert D. FitzGerald's ''Dendrobium phalaenopsis''.) In 2015 Peter Adams reduced Fitzgerald's ''D. phalaenopsis'' to a synonym of ''D. bigibbum'' var. ''superbum'' and this has been accepted by WCSP. Adams also reduced David Jones's ''Vappodes lithocola'' to a synonym of ''D. bigibbum'' var. ''compactum'', ''D. phalaenopsis'' var. ''compactum'' to ''D. bigibbum'' var. ''compactum'' and ''D. striaenopsis'' to ''D. bigibbum'' var. ''schroederianum''.


Queensland State Floral Emblem

The Queensland government, in preparation for its 1959 Centenary, sought advice as to what native species would be a good floral emblem. Specifically, the government was looking for an easily grown species found only in Queensland, which was decorative, distinctive, and close to the State colour,
maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...
. The Cooktown orchid, which meets these criteria, was one of the four initial suggestions, the others being the red silky oak (''
Grevillea banksii ''Grevillea banksii'', commonly known as Banks' grevillea, Byfield waratah, red flowered silky oak and dwarf silky oak, and in Hawaii as kāhili flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is ...
''), the umbrella tree (''Brassaia actinophylla'' (now ''
Schefflera actinophylla ''Heptapleurum actinophyllum'' (formerly ''Schefflera actinophylla'') is a tree in the family Araliaceae. It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in northern and north-eastern Queensland coasts and the Northern Territory of Austr ...
''), and the wheel-of-fire (''
Stenocarpus sinuatus ''Stenocarpus sinuatus'', known as the firewheel tree, is an Australian rainforest tree in the family Proteaceae. The range of natural distribution is in various rainforest types from the Nambucca River (30° S) in New South Wales to the Ath ...
''). ''
The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...
'', a
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
newspaper, sought additional suggestions from its readers, and compiled a list of 13 possibilities. In a public poll, the Cooktown orchid came in first place, the red silky oak in second, and poinsettia (''
Euphorbia pulcherrima The poinsettia ( or ) (''Euphorbia pulcherrima'') is a commercially important flowering plant species of the diverse spurge family Euphorbiaceae. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834 ...
''), already the floral emblem of the capital city Brisbane, came in third. In 1968 the Cooktown orchid was featured on an Australian postage stamp.


Distribution and habitat

This orchid species grows on trees and rocks in rainforest, coastal scrub, near rivers, in swamps and open forest in tropical Queensland, southern New Guinea and a single island in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.


Conservation

''Dendrobium bigibbum'' is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...
''. The main threats to the species are "settlement and visitor pressures", inappropriate fire regimes and illegal collection.


Use in horticulture

It is illegal to collect the Cooktown orchid from its natural environment without a licence. Commercially cultivated plants like a dry, sunny position with a minimum of watering and a temperature that does not fall below . Specimens need a bush-house in cooler climates.Scarth-Johnson, Vera. 2000. ''National Treasures: Flowering plants of Cooktown and Northern Australia'', p. 153.
Vera Scarth-Johnson Vera Scarth-Johnson (1912 – 19 May 1999) was a noted botanist and botanical illustrator who is also remembered for her continual efforts to teach others to treasure the flora and environment of Australia and, in particular, the botanically r ...
Gallery Association. (pbk); Limited Edition leather-bound]


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dendrobium Bigibbum Dendrobium, bigibbum Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1852