Dendrobium section Conostalix Kraenzl.
in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV. 50. II. B. 21 (1910) 160 .
Rhizomes short to somewhat elongated, creeping. Stems elongated and slender, often branching, fleshy or not, if fleshy then longitudinally grooved, many-leaved. Leaves sheathing at the base, the sheaths covered with short black or brown hairs. Inflorescences lateral, short, 1- to few-flowered. Flowers rather small, usually not resupinate, more or less pendulous, lasting at least several days, with a prominent spur-like mentum. Lip not mobile, often 3-lobed, rather fleshy and usually with few to several low crests.
Distribution
Burma, Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands. About 12 species; in New Guinea 4 species.
Habitat
Epiphytes in lower montane forest or terrestrial in rather open, swampy places at low to moderate altitudes, often in Sphagnum moss.
Notes
It is likely that this section should be included in sect. Distichophyllae. The main, if not the only difference is found in the hairy leaf sheaths of sect. Conostalix. In addition, several (but not all) species of sect. Conostalix have very thin, branching stems, while those of sect. Distochophyllae are distinctly fleshy and unbranched. In the species with branching stems, the branches are characteristically held in a vertical position. The small, dull-coloured flowers are among the least attractive of all dendrobiums.