Den. Sec. Dendrobium

Swartz

Pronunciation:

den-DRO-bee-um
Tribe: Epidendreae
Subtribe: Dendrobiinae

This is the type section for the genus and includes Dendrobium moniliforme, the type species. The Section Dendrobium is related to Sections Calcarifera, Pedilonum and Formosae. Most of the plants of this section are epiphytes that are found in low to moderate elevations in areas that have a very distinct dry seasons.

The plants often have club-shaped pseudobulbs with leaves along the upper two-thirds. Usually deciduous, these leaves will often fall off after a year and these bare canes will produce flowers, usually one to three, at nodes along the canes during the dry season. The flowers are often large and showy and sometimes fragrant, such as Den. anosmum (syn. superbum) which has a strong raspberry scent. In general, these species require a cool dry rest in order to flower well.

These dendrobiums are often referred to as "soft cane" species and many are very popular in cultivation.

Commonly encountered species include: **-***D. moniliforme, *-**D. nobile,*-** D. linawianum, **-***D. falconeri, **D. wardianum, **D. findlayanum, *-**D. parishii, **-***D. devonianum, *D. primulinum, *-**D. aphyllum (syn. D. pierardii), *-**D. anosmum (syn. D. superbum), D. tortile, D. signatum, D. *-**crystallinum, **-***D. crepidatum, D. lituiflorum, D. amoenum, *D. loddigesii, D. senile, D. dixanthum, D. heterocarpum, **D. chrysanthum, D. ochreatum, D. albosanguineum, *D. friedericksianum, **D. unicum,* D. pulchellum, *-**D. moschatum,*-**-*** D. fimbriatum, and **D. gibsonii

*= warm. **= intermediate, ***=cool

The cultural guidelines as presented in the table below are general. For specific cultural guidelines, it is recommended you consult the references listed below.

Number of species:

This is a large section of perhaps 50-60 species.

Distribution:

India to New Guinea and Australia in the east and Japan and Korea to the north. The center of distribution lies in the area from India to Indochina including China and Thailand.