Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Dendrochilum uncatum



Golden Chain Orchid Dendrochilum uncatum
Family: Orchidaceae •
Genus: Dendrochilum •
Species: uncatum (Rchb. f.) Bonplandia (1855) •
Country of Origin: The Philippines •
Common Names: Golden Chain Orchid •

黃穗蘭

syn. Dendrochilum formosanum (Schltr.) Schltr.
syn. Dendrochilum uncatum var. formosanum (Schltr.) T. Hashim.
syn. Platyclinis formosana Schltr.

Pseudobulbs tufted, ovate-clavate, 2-4 cm tall, 8-15 mm in diam., glabrous, often lustrous. Leaves solitary, linear-oblong, 8-18 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, apex acute, base cuneate; petiole 1-2 cm long. Peduncle arising with new leaves from base of old pseudobulb, becoming terminal at apex of new pseudobulb, 10-15 cm long, erect or flexuous near apex, slender; rachis 6-10 cm long, zigzag; bracts convolute, 3-4 mm long. Flowers many, distichous, yellowish, ca. 8 mm in diam.; dorsal sepal oblong, 6 mm long, 2 mm wide, acute; lateral sepals ovate, 6 mm long, 4 mm wide, apex acute, obliquely contracted at base; petals oblong, 5 mm long, 2 mm wide, apex acute, slightly contracted at base; lip lyrate, short clawed at base, 5 mm long, 3 mm wide, base truncate or rounded, with 2 lunate lateral lobes, mid-lobe larger, obovate, apex cuspidate, disc with 2 keels near base; column 2 mm long, dorsal wing down curved at apex, ventrally with 2 lateral arms below anther; pollinia conic-ovate.

PINGTUNG: Lilungshan, Su & Chen 8117; 8090. TAITUNG: Lanyu Is., Su 95; 7518*.

The Philippines. Taiwan, thickets on Lanyu Is. and on the Hengchun Peninsula.

www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=100&taxon_id...


I walk by this plant every day just taking it's little yellow flowers for granted. It has a heavenly citrus fragrance that wafts thru the air when you walk by. It blooms all year long. I keep it in a small pot with sphagnum moss. Which sits in my bedroom window that has a western exposure. No special care!!!!




Creative Commons License
Dendrochilum uncatum by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

2 comments:

Mother Nature said...

It has a graceful appearance.

MrBrownThumb said...

What a cool plant.