Dendrobium exile Schltr.
Dendrobium exile Schltr. stems are erect, finely cylindrical, ± woody, up to 50 cm long, ca. 3 mm thick, often branched distally, with 2-3 internodes expanded fusiform above the base; the expanded part of the stem is fleshy, 4.5 cm long, ca. 8 mm thick, with 4 ribs, covered with a pale white membranous sheath when young, russet and glossy when old. The leaves are usually alternate on the upper part of the branches, erect, compressed-terete, 2.5-6 cm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, acute at the apex, with a leathery sheath at the base.
Inflorescence reduced to a single flower, laterally borne at the tip of the branches, white, spreading; floral bracts ovate, ca. 2 mm long, apex obtuse; pedicel and ovary slender, ca. 1 cm; sepals and petals sublanceolate, apex long acuminate; middle sepal 1.7 cm long, ca. 2.5 mm wide, with 5 veins; lateral sepals ca. as large as middle sepal, base skewed to form an angular sepal sac with gynostegium; sepal sac strongly straight, facing upward, ca. 1 cm petals 1.7 cm long, 1.5 mm wide, with 3 veins; labellum base cuneate, 3-lobed above middle; lateral lobes obliquely semi-ovoid-triangular, with a few lavender spots inside, apex obtuse, anterior margin undulate; middle lobe narrowly oblong, apex acute, margin undulate; labellum disc yellow, sparsely villous, with 3 keel ridges running longitudinally from base to apex; gynostegium 2 mm long. gynostegium foot with 1 callus near base; capsule conical.
Capsule fusiform, 4 cm long, 6 mm thick. Oct-Nov, fr.
Dendrobium exile Schltr. is a shade-loving perennial herb, preferring to grow in warm, humid, semi-shady and semi-sunny environments with an annual rainfall of more than 1000 mm, and in deep subtropical forests with an average January temperature above 8°C. The suitable growing temperature is 15 to 28°C, and the suitable growing air humidity is more than 60%. Wild mostly grows on loose and thick bark or trunk, some also grow in stone crevices. Aerial root system, the main requirement is good root permeability, the best substrate can be ventilated, air and water filtration, in the appropriate temperature and humidity, the growth rate is fast, very strong survival ability. Every year in late spring and early summer, the inflorescence is drawn from the upper nodes of the biennial stems, and after flowering, new buds grow from the base of the stems to develop into stems, and enter the dormant period in autumn and winter.
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