__NOTOC__ ''Dendrochilum'' (commonly abbreviated ''Ddc.'' in horticulture) is a genus of

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 ...

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 ...

and a few terrestrial flowering plants in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). The name of this genus is derived from Ancient Greek words ("tree"), and either ("lip")Schubert, R., & Wagner, G. (1988). ''Botanisches Wörterbuch'' (9th edition). Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer. or ("green food"), alluding to either the flowers' large lip or to their epiphytic growth. These orchids are popular among fans of non-traditional orchid curiosities.

Distribution and description

They are distributed at higher elevations in the humid

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s throughout the Malesian region, with some in the surrounding lands; thus they occur from Southeast Asia to New Guinea. But most species are found on Borneo or the Philippines.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> This genus produces miniature, fragrant, star-shaped flowers that are generally produced in two rows on erect or arching pendant, many-flowered

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s. These inflorescences can grow to a length of (e.g. in the

Hay-scented Orchid ''Dendrochilum glumaceum'', the hay-scented orchid or husk-like dendrochilum, was described by John Lindley in 1841. It is an elegant looking epiphytic or lithophytic dendrochilum that occurs in the Philippines and Borneo at altitudes between 7 ...

, ''D. glumaceum''). The stems are ovoid to cylindrical, striped, sharply reduced pseudobulbs, about long, with green to brown

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at their base. Each carries one or two tough, erect and lanceolate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

, usually about long, with narrow petioles. The elliptical leaves of the

Long-leaved Dendrochilum ''Dendrochilum longifolium'' is a species of 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 Asteracea ...

('' D. longifolium'') may grow to a length of .

Taxonomy

The precise number of species is disputed; many websites accept as few as 100 or so, while others recognize far more. The World Checklist of Monocotyledons for example lists 390 records, including names that have become

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

s. Numerous new taxa have become known in recent decades;e.g. Pedersen (1997), Wood (1997) in the ''Dendrochilum'' species list on Wikipedia, a more split-up approach is followed pending more up-to-date information. For it seems that the very low species numbers are certainly gross overlumping, and while the very high numbers sometimes presented are probably a result of oversplitting, they are likely to be closer to the truth. Many of these orchids (67 species in the list used here) were named by Johannes Jacobus Smith, an eminent Dutch botanist. The genus' type species, described by Carl Ludwig Blume in 1825, is ''

Dendrochilum aurantiacum __NOTOC__ ''Dendrochilum'' (commonly abbreviated ''Ddc.'' in horticulture) is a genus of epiphytic, lithophytic and a few terrestrial flowering plants in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). The name of this genus is derived from Ancient Greek words ...

'' of Java and

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

. Several species were formerly separated in ''Acoridium'' (established by

Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He de ...

and

Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen (28 June 1804 – 2 September 1840) was a Prussian physician and botanist. Meyen was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. In 1830 he wrote ''Phytotomie'', the first major study of plant anatomy. Between 1830 and 1832, he too ...

in 1843) or ''Platyclinis'' (established by George Bentham in 1881), but these two taxa are nowadays regarded as

s of ''Dendrochilum''.

Selected species

* ''

Dendrochilum anfractum ''Dendrochilum anfractum'' is a species of orchid, commonly known as the bent dendrochilum, endemic to Philippines. References External links

Dendrochilum, anfractum Orchids of the Philippines {{Epidendroideae-stub ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Dendrochilum cobbianum'' * ''

Dendrochilum cootesii ''Dendrochilium cootesii'' is an orchid species found only in the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filip ...

'' * '' Dendrochilum glumaceum'' * ''

Dendrochilum ignisiflorum ''Dendrochilum ignisiflorum'' is a species of orchid endemic in Benguet province in the Philippines. ''Dendrochilum ignisiflorum'' was described in 2020 with the help from researchers from the Philippine Taxonomic Initiative (PTI), The research ...

'' * ''

Dendrochilum javieriense ''Dendrochilum javieriense'' is a species of orchid, commonly known as Javier's dendrochilum. It is endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. References

Dendrochilum, javieriense Orchids of the Philippines Plants described in ...

'' * '' Dendrochilum longifolium'' * ''

Dendrochilum magnum ''Dendrochilum magnum'' is a species of 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, th ...

Footnotes

References

* (1995): The genus ''Dendrochilum. In: Orchids Australia''. * (2004): The genus ''Dendrochilum''. ''In:'' : ''Genera Orchidacearum'' (Vol. 3). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. * (2002): ''Dendrochilum: elegance in miniature''. ''Orchid Review'' 110(1246): 212-217. * (1997): The genus ''Dendrochilum'' (Orchidaceae) in the Philippines – a taxonomic revision. ''Opera Botanica'' 131: 5-205. * (1997): ''Orchids of Borneo'' (Vol.3: ''Dendrobium, Dendrochilum'' and others). Sabah Society, Kota Kinabalu and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2720025 Arethuseae genera Epiphytic orchids