Dendrobium section Aporum (Blume) Lindl.,
J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 3 (1859) 3.
Rhizome short, roots (unlike sect. Oxystophyllum) not brown. Stems short to much elongated and slender, branched or not, not fleshy, many-leaved, often in upper part with scale-like leaves only. Leaves sheathing at the base, usually overlapping, glabrous, thick coriaceous, bilaterally flattened with sharp edges. Inflorescences arising laterally from the stem, but often, if this is present, only from the scale-leaved upper part, very short, 1-flowered, often in small clusters. Flowers small to very small, lasting at least several days, often rather fleshy. Mentum well-developed, often tubular in apical part. Lip not mobile.
Distribution
India, continental Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea. About 60 species; in New Guinea two species (Dendrobium aloifolium and Dendrobium inconspicuum).
Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland forest.
Notes
This is one of the few sections of Dendrobium in which the plants possess laterally flattened leaves. The others are Oxystophyllum, Crumenata (in part), and Strongyle. Section Oxystophyllum is well distinguished by two inconspicuous but consistent characters: it has thin brown roots, and the lip has a conical wart on the underside near the apex. The delimitation of section Aporum against Strongyle and Crumenata needs further investigation, and is discussed under these sections.