Dendrobium teretifolium

Thin Pencil Orchid

It has rigid flowering stems bearing up to twelve crowded white to cream-coloured flowers
The flowering stems are 50–100 mm long and bear between three and fifteen crowded, white, cream-coloured or greenish, crowded flowers
The flowers are 20–30 mm long and 30–40 mm wide with red or purplish marks in the centre
The sepals are 20–30 mm long, about 3 mm wide and spread widely apart from each other
The petals are a similar length but only about 1 mm wide
The labellum is curved, 20–30 mm long, about 5 mm wide with three lobes
The side lobes curve upwards and the middle lobe has a long, thin tip, crinkled edges and three wavy ridges on its top
Flowering occurs from July to August

Fruit:

Leaves:

It has long, thin hanging stems, pencil-like leaves
Its leaves are circular in cross-section, 300–600 mm long and 4–6 mm in diameter and hang down

Stem & branches:

It has hanging, zig-zagged, branched stems, 0.5–2 mm long and 2–4 mm wide forming bushy clumps

Roots:

Habit:

Habitat:

It grows in rainforest and humid open forest
It grows on rocks but usually on trees
It has with a preference for hoop pine Araucaria cunninghamii in Queensland and for Casuarina glauca in NSW

Distribution:

Mostly in near-coastal districts in NSW and Queensland
It occurs on the coast and nearby ranges from near Calliope to Bega and is found in rainforest, along streams and near mangroves

Additional notes:

Taxonomy and naming
- It was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen

Sources of information:

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse

Contents: