Dendrobium juniperinum

Dendrobium juniperinum Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 615; 21 (1928) t. 207, fig. 782.

Type: Schlechter 19075 (holo B, lost).

Rhizome very short, roots elongated, filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Stems crowded, erect, much branched in apical part, rigid, 40-50 cm long, many-leaved. Leaf sheaths entirely covering the stem, with raised verrucose lines. Leaves erect-patent to patent, linear, 2-2.5 by 0.2-0.25 cm, apex acute, rigid. Inflorescences arising laterally from the stem, subsessile, 2-flowered; spathe laterally compressed, semiorbicular. Pedicel and ovary 1 cm long, glabrous. Flowers c. 1.5 cm across. Dorsal sepal oblong, 1 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, widened at the base, 1 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum 0.4 cm long, obtuse. Petals narrowly obliquely spathulate-oblong, a little shorter than the sepals, apex obtuse. Lip 3-lobed above the middle, 1 by 0.7 cm, broadly cuneate at the base, with a basal keel extending to the base of the midlobe, in the centre of the midlobe with a patch of flexuose hairs; lateral lobes erect, triangular, interior margins serrulate, apex subacute; midlobe twice as long, broadly ovate, margins crenulate, apex shortly acuminate. Column short, clinandrium 3-lobulate, the lateral lobules truncate, lacerate-denticulate, the median tooth-like; column-foot concave, 0.4 cm long. Anther broadly rhomboid-cucullate, glabrous, in front irregular.
(after Schlechter, 1912).

Colours: Sepals and petals pale pink, lip yellowish white.

Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest. Altitude 1250 m.

Flowering time in the wild: January.

Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Madang Province: Finisterre Mountains).

Map: JUNIPMAP.JPG [Dendrobium juniperinum Schltr., distribution map.]

Notes: Characterised by its very densely branched, shrub-like habit.

Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.

%LABEL% (%SOURCE%)