Dendrochilum
Encyclopedia
Dendrochilum is a genus
of epiphytic
, lithophytic
and a few terrestrial
flowering plant
s in the orchid family
(Orchidaceae). The name of this genus is derived from Ancient Greek
words dendron ("tree"), and either cheilos ("lip") or chilos ("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.
They are distributed at higher elevations in the humid rainforest
s throughout the Malesia
n 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
.
This genus produces miniature, fragrant, star-shaped flower
s that are generally produced in two rows on erect or arching pendant, many-flowered raceme
s. These inflorescence
s can grow to a length of 50 cm (e.g. in the Hay-scented Orchid, D. glumaceum). The stems are ovoid to cylindrical, striped, sharply reduced pseudobulb
s, about 4–10 cm long, with green to brown bract
s at their base. Each carries one or two tough, erect and lanceolate leaves
, usually about 20 cm long, with narrow petiole
s. The elliptical leaves of the Long-leaved Dendrochilum (D. longifolium
) may grow to a length of 40 cm.
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 of Java
and Sumatra
. Several species were formerly separated in Acoridium (established by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
and Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen in 1843) or Platyclinis (established by George Bentham
in 1881), but these two taxa are nowadays regarded as synonyms of Dendrochilum.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of epiphytic
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
, lithophytic
Lithophyte
Lithophytes are a type of plant that grows in or on rocks. Lithophytes feed off moss, nutrients in rain water, litter, and even their own dead tissue....
and a few terrestrial
Terrestrial plant
A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. Other types of plants are aquatic , epiphytic , lithophytes and aerial ....
flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the orchid family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Orchidaceae). The name of this genus is derived from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words dendron ("tree"), and either cheilos ("lip") or chilos ("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
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s throughout the Malesia
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...
n region, with some in the surrounding lands; thus they occur from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. But most species are found on Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
or the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
This genus produces miniature, fragrant, star-shaped flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s that are generally produced in two rows on erect or arching pendant, many-flowered raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s. These inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s can grow to a length of 50 cm (e.g. in the Hay-scented Orchid, D. glumaceum). The stems are ovoid to cylindrical, striped, sharply reduced pseudobulb
Pseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
s, about 4–10 cm long, with green to brown bract
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 often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s at their base. Each carries one or two tough, erect and lanceolate leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, usually about 20 cm long, with narrow petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
s. The elliptical leaves of the Long-leaved Dendrochilum (D. longifolium
Dendrochilum longifolium
Dendrochilum longifolium is a species of orchid, commonly known as the Long-leaved Dendrochilum....
) may grow to a length of 40 cm.
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 synonyms. Numerous new taxa have become known in recent decades; in the Dendrochilum species list on Wikipedia, a more split-upLumpers and splitters
Lumping and splitting refers to a well-known problem in any discipline which has to place individual examples into rigorously defined categories. The lumper/splitter problem occurs when there is the need to create classifications and assign examples to them, for example schools of literature,...
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
Johannes Jacobus Smith
Johannes Jacobus Smith was a Dutch botanist who, between years 1905 to 1924, crossed the islands of the Dutch East Indies , collecting specimens of plants and describing and cataloguing the flora of these islands...
, an eminent Dutch botanist. The genus' type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
, described by Carl Ludwig Blume
Carl Ludwig Blume
Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume was a German-Dutch botanist.He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life working in the Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands, where he was Director of the Rijksherbarium at Leiden...
in 1825, is Dendrochilum aurantiacum of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. Several species were formerly separated in Acoridium (established by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck 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 described approximately 7,000 plant species...
and Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen in 1843) or Platyclinis (established by George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
in 1881), but these two taxa are nowadays regarded as synonyms of Dendrochilum.
Selected species
- Dendrochilum anfractumDendrochilum anfractumDendrochilum anfractum is a species of orchid, commonly known as the Bent Dendrochilum, endemic to Philippines....
– Bent Dendrochilum - Dendrochilum aurantiacum
- Dendrochilum cobbianumDendrochilum cobbianumCobb's Dendrochilum , described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1880, is an epiphytic orchid occurring in the Philippines, growing on moss-covered trees. It can sometimes occur as a lithophyte growing on rocks at altitudes above 1200 m.It possesses white to green-white, creamy flowers with yellow...
– Cobb's Dendrochilum - Dendrochilum glumaceumDendrochilum glumaceumDendrochilum glumaceum, the Hay-scented Orchid , was described by John Lindley in 1878...
– Hay-scented Orchid, Husk-like Dendrochilum - Dendrochilum javierienseDendrochilum javierienseDendrochilum javieriense is a species of orchid, commonly known as Javier's Dendrochilum....
– Javier's Dendrochilum - Dendrochilum longifoliumDendrochilum longifoliumDendrochilum longifolium is a species of orchid, commonly known as the Long-leaved Dendrochilum....
- Dendrochilum magnumDendrochilum magnumDendrochilum magnum is a species of orchid, commonly known as the Large Dendrochilum, endemic to Philippines....
– Large Dendrochilum