Section Pleianthe

Dendrobium section Pleianthe Schltr.,
Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 450.

Rhizome short. Stems much elongated and slender, not fleshy, many-leaved, unbranched. Leaves sheathing at the base, long-lived, glabrous. Inflorescences lateral from the stem, extremely condensed, rachis more or less conical, laterally flattened, 4- to 12-flowered, with the flowers arranged in a row parallel with the stem. Flowers rather small, whitish or yellowish, the majority in the inflorescence not resupinate, lasting at least several days. Mentum short and broad. Lip not or somewhat mobile.

Distribution
Sulawesi, New Guinea. Three species; in New Guinea two species, which are doubtfully distinct.

Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland and montane forest.

Notes
The strangest inflorescence in the genus Dendrobium can be found in this section. It looks as if a bunch of flowers has explosively burst through the leaf-sheaths. In this character the section is absolutely unique. The plants are quite stout, with very tall, cane-like stems, not unlike some of the more robust species of sect. Grastidium, while the flowers also resemble certain members of that section. Unlike Grastidium, however, the flowers in sect. Pleianthe are not ephemeral.

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