Download Australian Dendrobium Orchid Species- overview

AustralianDendrobiumOrchidSpecies-overview
Introduction
Australiahasover56nativeDendrobium‘species’althoughrecently
analternativenamingsystemhasbeenproposedthathas
reclassifiedDendrobiumspeciesintoothergeneraandspecies.The
newGeneraincludeCadetia,Cepobaculum,Ceratobium,Coelandria,
Davejonesia,Dockdrillia,Durabaculum,Flickingeria,Tetrabaculum,
Thelychiton,TropilisandVappodes.Asthisrenamingisnot
universallyacceptedorresolved,forthepurposeofthisoverview
theoriginalnameswillbeusedaswellasthenewproposednames.
Refertothespeciesarticlesonthiswebsiteformoredetailed
growingguidesforthedifferentspecies.
DendrobiumspeciosumcomplexorThelychitonspecies
Thelychitonspp.orsyn.
Dendobiumspeciosum
Commonlyknownasrockorchidsorrockliliestheycanbefoundalongtheeastcoastof
Australia(seemapsbelow).
ThereareagreatvarietyofvegetativeformswithinDen.speciosumthatvaryinstature
fromshorttoverytall.IthasbeenproposedthattheDen.speciosumcomplexbedivided
into6Thelychitonspeciesalthoughthisisnotuniversallyacceptedatthissatgesoboth
namesareused.The6species(orDendrobiumvarieties)aresummarisedbelowbasedon
theirnaturaldistributionstartingwithmostnortherlyspeciesfirstandprogressivelymoving
south.
Thelychitonpedunculatus(syn.Den.speciosumvar.
pedunculatum).
Thisspecieshasarestricteddistributionofabout100kmonthe
westoftheAthertonTablelandsinQueensland(10)inanarea
thathasalongdrywinterperiod.Itisadwarfformwith
pseudobulbsusuallynotexceeding25cmlong.Ithasthick
uprightleaves.Theplantmusttolerateadrywinterperiod
lastingseveralmonths.Itgetsitsnamefromtheverylong
pedunclebetweentheleafaxilandthestartoftheflowerson
theraceme.Overhalftheracemelengthwillhavenoflowers.
Racemescanbeupto75cmlongbutareusuallymuchshorter.Flowercolourismostly
white,creamorpaleyellow(10).Breedershaveusedthisspeciesextensivelyto
incorporateitsdwarfcharacter.
Thelychitoncurvicaulis(syn.Den.speciosumvar.curvicaule).
ThisspecieshasalimitedrangeandgrowsfrommidwaybetweenRockhamptonand
MackaynorthtoAirlieBeach(10)atelevationsof20to1200m.Pseudobulbsarevery
longandthickandmeasureupto85cmtothefirstleafanditusuallyonlyhas2or3
thickleatheryleaves.Plantsfromhigherelevationshavethelargestpseudobulbsand
longerracemes.Thisspeciesdoesnotproduceaerialroots.Flowercolouriswhite
throughtopaleyellow.Selectionsinclude“EungellaDawn”,“Fab”and“Eungella
Queen”.
Thelychitoncapricornicus(syn.Den.speciosumvar.capricornicum).
ThisspeciesisfoundnorthofRockhamptonincentral
QueenslandaroundtheTropicofCapricorn,belowwhichT.
rexismorecommon(10).Itismorecommonlyfoundon
rocksratherthantrees(10).Pseudobulbsvaryfrom15to
35cmlongandarenotverythickwithrelativelysmallleaves.
ThecloneBigBoyishighlyawardedbutthisspeciesisnot
widelygrown.Flowercolourrangesfrompaleyellowtooff
whitewithracemesupto60cmlong.
Thelychitonrex(syn.Den.speciosumvar.grandiflorum)
ThisformissimilarinappearancetoT.tarberi(seebelow).It
andT.tarberiaretheonlyvarsofspeciosumtohaveaerial
roots(10).ItscommonnameistheGoldenKingOrchid.
Flowercolourismidtodarkyellowandflowersarelarger
thanfoundonT.tarberi.Racemescanbeupto75cmlongby
15cmindia(10).Itgrowsonrocksandtreesandis
predominantlyfoundaroundKingaroyandGympienorthto
RockhamptoninQldatelevationsof100to600m(10).
Thelychitontarberi(syn.Denspeciosumvar.hillii).
Thisspecies,sometimesreferredtoastheTreeKingOrchid
orthePaleKingOrchid,isfound200kmnorthofSydney
anditsnorthernlimitisnearNambour100kmnorthof
BrisbaneinQueensland(10).Itgrowsatelevationsof50to
1200masanepiphyteinrainforestsorhumidforests(11)
ontreesorrocks.Pseudobulbsarethin,longandtapered
andupto1mlongwithmanyaerialroots.Racemescanbe
upto60cmlongwithupto400flowersperraceme.
Flowersareabout25mmwideandtypicallypalecreamor
whitewithnoyellowflowersknown(10).Itisnotas
popularasotherspeciosumspecieswithgrowers.
Thelychitonspeciosus(syn.Den.speciosum)
Thisisthemostsoutherlyspeciesandiscommonlycalled
theNSWRockLilyandgrowsfromVictoriatothecentral
coastofNSWfromsealeveltoaround900m(10).It
predominantlygrowsonrocksandveryoccasionallyon
trees(10).Pseudobulbsrangeinlengthfrom15to75cm
with2to5leavesupto30cmlongand8cmwide.Racemes
canbeupto60cmlongwithflowercolourrangingfrom
whitetostrongyellow(10).ItflowersfromSeptemberto
November.Notallplantsflowereachyear.Twowellknown
cultivarsare“Windemere”and“NationalWhite”
Thelychitonepiphyticus
Thisepiphyte,commonlyknownastheIllawarrarockorchid,isonlyfoundinsouthern
NSWintheNowradistrict.Itonlygrowsontreesandhasupto50creamflowersper
racemecomparedtoT.specioususwhichhasupto100flowersperraceme(13).
Generalcomments
Manyplantsonlyflowerwelleverysecondyearandrequiregoodexposuretosunlightto
flower.Flowerscanbeverystronglyperfumed.Floweringisconcentratedinlatewinterspring.Theycanbloomoffthesamepseudobulbsforanumberofseasons(2).T.speciosus
hasbeenusedinextensivecrossingandselectionprogramstoproduceawidevarietyin
flowercoloursandstrongthickpseudobulbs.Seedlingscantakeupto10yearstoflower(4).
HybridsofD.speciosumwitheitherD.falcorostrumorD.kingianumintheirparentage
flowermorereliablyeachyearonsmalleryoungerplants(4).
Asalithophyte,itcanproducelargespreadingclumpsonrocksandclifffaces,ofteninfull
sun,withitsrootsformingadensematacrosstherock.
TobetterunderstandthenaturaldistributionofDendrobiumspeciosumvarieties(orsyn.
Thelychitons),themapbelowdescribesthedistributionofthevarious9varietiesbasedon
theoriginalDendrobiumspeciosumclassification(12).These9speciosumvarietieshave
nowbeenrenamedasuniqueThelychitonspeciesintheproposedreclassification.
Mapshowingdistributionof9Dendrobiumspeciosumvarietiesbasedontheolder
classification(FromAdamsetal.2006)
OtherThelychitonsorsynDendrobiums
Thelychitonfalcorostrusorsyn.Dendrobiumfalcorostrum
Awhitefloweringepiphyticspeciesoriginatingintherainforestsof
QueenslandandNewSouthWalesandtoleratestemperaturesdown
tofreezing.AlsoknownastheAntarcticBeechOrchid.Stemsgrowup
to50cmlong.GrowsonBeechtreesincooltemperaterainforestnorthof
BardoRose
BarringtonTopsinNSW.Thewhiteflowersarestronglyperfumed.
‘BardoRose’isverypopularfragrantprimaryhybridofDen.
falcorostrumandDen.kingianum.
Thelychitonfleckeriorsyn.Dendrobiumfleckeri
Thisspeciesknownastheapricotcaneorchidhasapricotcoloured
flowers.Manyhybridshavebeenmadewiththisspecies.Pseudobulbs
areupto40cmlong.Foundgrowingincloudforestsontreesand
boulders,oftenamongstmoss.FlowersAugusttoJanuary.
Thelychitonfleckeri
Thelychitonkingianusorsyn.Dendrobiumkingianum
Averyhardyorchidwithcoloursrangingfromdarkpurpletopalepink.
ItcanbefoundfromcentralNSWtotheCarnarvonGorgein
Queensland.Canesareshorterinthemoresouthernformsandmore
elongatedinmorenortherlywarmerclimateforms.Ithasbeenwidely
usedincrossingprogramstodevelophybridswithovera1000
registeredforms.Coloursrangefromwhitetopinkanddarkpurple.
Somecultivarscarry2racemespercane.Itismorepronetofrostthan
otherDendrobiumsandalsomorelikelytoproducekeikisifgiventoo
muchnitrogenfertilizer.
Thelychitonkingianus
Dendrobiumdelicatum
ThiseasytogrowlithophyticspeciesisanaturalhybridofD.
kingianumandD.tarberifoundineasternNSWtonorth
Queensland(2).Itspseudobulbscanbeupto35cmlongwith2to5
leavesatthetop.Itrequiresplentyofsuntoflowerandadry
winter.Itflowersfromlatewintertospring.Flowercoloursrange
fromwhitetopinkwithalargerangeofcultivarsavailable(seeSanta
BarbaraOrchidEstatewebsite)(6).
Den.delicatum
Tetrabaculum
ThisgenuscontainsspeciesfromtheoldDendrobiumtetragonumcomplex.Commonly
knownasthespiderorchid.Thereare4varietiesofDen.tetragonum(5),
Var.melaleucaphilumwiththecommonname“SpiderOrchid”isfoundfromtheBlue
MountainsinNSWtocentralQueensland.ItisanepiphytethatgrowsmainlyonMelaleuca
trees.
Var.tetragonum,growsfromtheIllawarraregioninNSWtotheFitzroy Den.tetragonum
RiverinQueenslandandisknownasthe‘blotchedtreespiderorchid’
duetotheshapeoftheflowers.Itisfoundataltitudesof500to1200m.
Var.cacatuaisatropicalformthatisfoundbetweentheFitzroyandAnnanRiversin
Queensland.Itscommonnameis“Yellowtreespiderorchid”andiscommonlyfoundin
denserainforestsontreesinshadyareasbesidestreams.ItflowersfromJulytoSeptember.
Pseudobulbsarenarrow,pendulousandupto50cmlongwith2-5leaves.
Var.giganteumisatropicalformfoundfromtheFitzroyRivernorthtotheCapeYork
PeninsulainQueenslandatelevationsfromsealevelto900minshadylocationsontrees
besidestreams.Thisvarietyhaslargerflowersupto12cmacrosswhichareyellowwith
whitelipblotchedwithred(9).
Afurther2varietiesoftetrabaculumhavebeenrecentlyclassified,varserpentisand
subsppcataractarum.
Flowersarespideryinappearancewithapseudobulbproducingflowersformanyyears.
Theseepiphytesarebestgrownonmountswithmossovertheirrootsunderhighhumidity.
HybridsproducedfromDen.tetragonuminclude;
D.speciosumxD.tetragonum=D.HildaPoxon
D.falcorostrumxD.tetragonum=D.StarofGold
D.kingianumxD.tetragonum=D.Ellen
SeethearticlebyIssyKleinlistedbelowforafullerdescriptionofthehybrids(5).
Vappodes
Australianspeciesinthisgroupcomefromwarmermorenorthern
regionsofQueenslandandgenerallyrequirewarmertemperatures
withminimumnighttemperaturesof15°C,dailywateringin
summerbutadrywinterperiod.Theyarebestgrownonamountin
aglasshouse.Thebetterknownspeciesinclude:
Vappodesbigibbasyn.Den.bigibbum.Thisspecies,alsoknownas
theMauveButterflyOrchid,occursfromnorthernQueenslandto
theTorresStraightIslands(8).Pseudobulbscanbeverylongupto
120cmlongwith3-5leaves.ItflowersfromFebruarytoJuly.This
CooktownOrchid
speciesisagrandparentinthebreedingofDen.Anne’sRainbow
surpriseandDen.Jonathan’sGlorywhichhavebothbeenhighlyawarded(4).
Vappodeslithocolasyn,Den.bigibbumvar.compactum.Thisspeciesoccursbetweenthe
DaintreeandCairnsinNEQueenslandandiscommonlycalledtheDwarfButterflyOrchid.It
occursat250to800maslinhighrainfallareas(7).Pseudobulbscanbeupto25cmlong
with3-4terminalleaves.Racemeshave2-20flowers.Plantsareoftenfoundexposedtofull
sunonrocksandclifffacesandhotdryconditionswhentheycompletelydefoliate.They
flowerfromMarchtoOctober.Flowerscanbelilacpurple,white,bluishorpink(7).
Vappodesphalaenopsis,syn.Den.bigibbumvar.superbum.AlsoknownastheCooktown
Orchid(seefactsheetonthiswebsiteformoregrowinghints).
Hot-coldhybrids
Newhybridshavebeenproducedtogivelargerandmorecolourful
flowers.ThesetypicallyarecrossesusingD.kingianum,D.
speciosum,D.tetragonumandVappodesspecies.
Iftropicalspecieshavebeenusedintheparentage,morewarmth
willneedtobegiveninwinter,otherwisetheywilltoleratesimilar
coolconditionsasspeciosus.
HybridDendrobium
OtherDendrobium/Thelychitonspecies.
AmoredetaileddescriptionoftheseandotherAustralianDendrobium(Thelychiton)
speciesandtheirculturalrequirementscanbefoundinthereferenceslistedbelow.
Furtherreading
Thesenotesarebasedoninformationprovidedbylocalgrowersandthereferenceslisted
below.
1. GrowingOrchidsinCoolClimateAustralia(secondedition)byMJFraser,JWright,
WFerris(2013).
2. GardeningAustraliaFlora’sOrchids.ABCBooks(2005).
3. AustralianDendrobiumsandtheirCultivation.byAHope.
http://www.oscov.asn.au/articles/austden.htm
4. HowIGrowAustralianDendrobiums(andDockrillias)byBMilligan.
http://www.oscov.asn.au/articles2/dend.htm
5. TheinfluenceofDendrobiumtetragonuminAustralianNativeDendrobium
HybridisingbyIssyKlein.http://www.oscov.asn.au/articles/tetrainfl.htm
6. SantaBarbaraOrchidEstate.
http://www.sborchid.com/sboe_collection.php?collection_genus=Dendrobiums&co
llection_short_name=Aussie%20hybrids&collection_name=Australian%20dendrobiu
m%20hybrids
7. AustraliantropicalrainforestOrchids.VappodeslithocolabyMAClementsandDL
Jones.http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/08090a09-0d0e-410b-860c020705070e0e/media/Html/Vappodes_lithocola.htm
8. AustralianTropicalRainforestOrchids.Vappodesbigibba.ByMAClementsandDL
Jones.http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/08090a09-0d0e-410b-860c020705070e0e/media/Html/Vappodes_bigibba.htm
9. Dendrobiumtetragonum.http://www.orchidspecies.com/dentetragonum.htm
10. TheRockLilyMan.http://www.therocklilyman.com/index.php?p=1_39
11. Dendrobiumtarberi.MClementsandDJones.
http://www.orchidspecies.com/dentarberi.htm
12. PB.Adams,JM.BurkeandSD.Lawson(2006).Areviewofthetaxonomyand
relationshipsoftheDendrobiumspeciosumcomplex(Orchidaceae),andrecognition
oftwonewtaxa.Telopea.
13. OrchidspeciesoftheShoalhavenbyAlanStephenson.(2011).
Yourcommentsandsuggestionsonculturalguidearewelcome.Emailyourcommentsto
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Updated29/12/15
Thesenotesareintendedasaguideonlyandarecomposedfromavailableinformationandlocal
experience.TheWaggaWaggaOrchidSocietyanditsmembersarenotresponsibleforanylossordamage.