''Dendrobium cucumerinum'', commonly known as the cucumber orchid or gherkin orchid, is a species of orchid

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It 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 ...

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 ...

with creeping stems,

gherkin A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or ...

-like leaves and flowering stems with up to eighteen cream-coloured, yellowish or greenish white flowers with purple stripes. It often grows on large trees near streams but is also found in drier forests.

Description

''Dendrobium cucumerinum'' is an epiphytic

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with creeping stems thick with widely spaced leaves. The leaves are long, wide, thick and fleshy with many irregular bumps on the surface, giving them the appearance of a small cucumber or gherkin. Between two and eighteen cream-coloured, yellowish or greenish white, sometimes foul smelling flowers long and wide are arranged on a flowering stem long. 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 and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are irregularly twisted and have reddish purple streaks near their bases. The sepals are long and about wide, whilst the petals are about the same length but only half as wide. The labellum is white with purple marks and curved, long, wide and has three lobes. The side lobes are upright and the middle lobe is very wavy with three wavy ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs from November to February.

Taxonomy and naming

''Dendrobium cucumerinum'' was first formally described in 1842 by William MacLeay and the description was published 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 ...

in '' Edwards's Botanical Register''. Macleay had collected the specimen growing on swamp oak (''

Casuarina glauca ''Casuarina glauca'', commonly known as the swamp she-oak, swamp oak, grey oak, or river oak, is a species of ''Casuarina'' native to the east coast of Australia. It is found from central Queensland south to southern New South Wales. It has becom ...

'') at Brownlow Hill. Lindley noted "Of all the queer things which this strange order produces this is one of the very oddest. Only fancy a handful of little stunted cucumbers lying in a heap, and producing a few pale dirty-yellow striped flowers in the midst, and you have this plant before the eye". The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''cucumeriaum'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''cucumis'' meaning "cucumber". Lindley recorded the name "W.MacLeay" with the description, but

William Woolls William Woolls (30 March 1814 – 14 March 1893) was an Australian botanist, clergyman and schoolmaster. Woolls, the nineteenth child of merchant Edward Woolls, was born at Winchester, England and educated at the grammar school, Bishop's Waltha ...

noted in 1867 that "''Dendrobium Cucumerinum'' was found by the late Mr.W.S.Macleay, near Brownlow Hill, growing on the swamp oak". ''Dendrobium cucumerinum'' has been recorded hybridising with the straggly pencil orchid ('' Dendrobium bowmanii'') where they grow together.

Distribution and habitat

The cucumber orchid usually grows on '' Casuarina cunninghamiana'' trees but sometimes also on other species of tree and on rocks. It occurs between Jimna in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and Picton in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, also as far inland as

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

and the Blue Mountains.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15453694, from2=Q22284929 cucumerinum Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1842