Dendrobium odiosum Finet 1903 SECTION Holochrysa
Photo by © Eric Hunt
Photos by Marius Wasbauer ©
Common Name
Flower Size almost 1 1/4" [to 4 cm]
Found in Yunnan Province in the south of China at elevations of 200 to 1500 [1600 to 2150] meters as a medium to large sized, hot to cool growing epiphytic orchid with slender, occasionally branching stems carrying linear, 3/4" [2 cm] long or less, unequally bidentate apically leaves that blooms on a short, axillary, 1 to 2 flowered, fragrant inflorescence that arises from the apical leaf axils of last years mature canes and occuringin the spring with strongly scented [honey] flowers.
In the winter the water should be reduced and the fertilizer eliminated until new growth appears in the spring.
If your plant has leaves longer than 3/4" [2 cm] then your orchid is D hancockii. The column to D odiosum is much shorter and the ventral side of the column has a solid line of hairs going all the way across. In D hancockii the column is twice as long and the ventral side of the apex of the column has a few hairs in the center and sparsely anywhere else.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , Orchidaceae Monandre-Dendrobiinae Fr. Kraenzlin 1910 drawing ok; Orchid Species Culture; Dendrobium Bakers 1996; Dendrobium and its Relatives Lavarack, Harris and Stocker 2000 as syn to D hancockii photo fide; Cristenson 6/2007 pers comm.; Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009 as Syn of D hancockii; *Orchid Digest Vol 74 #4 2010 photo fide
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