Dendrobium section Brevisaccata Kraenzl.
in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV. 50. II. B. 21 (1910) 158.
Rhizomes short to somewhat elongated, creeping; roots conspicuously papillose. Pseudobulbs elongated and slender, sometimes rather fleshy, many-leaved. Leaves sheathing at the base, glabrous. Inflorescences lateral, patent, racemose or rarely branching (Dendrobium viridiflorum). Flowers rather small to medium-sized, resupinate. Lip mobile, in the basal part with a backwards-pointing appendage.
Distribution
Australia, Moluccas, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji. About 11 species; in New Guinea c. 9 species.
Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland and montane forest, also terrestrial in open montane vegetation.
Notes
Members of sect. Brevisaccata can be recognized by the strange warty roots as well as by the hinged lip having a backwards-pointing appendage at the base. With the exception of Dendrobium chalmersii, which with its contorted sepals and petals resembles a small-flowered member of section Spatulata, the species of section Brevisaccata are of little horticultural interest. This section has long been known as Trachyrhizum, but Kraenzlin's name was published slightly earlier.