The whole plant
The inflorescence
Synonyms
None
Origin in the Wild
Sabah
Elevation in the Wild
1400-2000 metres
Habitat in the Wild
This species, endemic to Sabah has been collected from Mount Kinabalu near Tenompok and the Kinateki River Head. Plants have also been collected from Mount Alab and on the Kota Kinabalu to Tambunan road within the Crocker Range.
Jeffrey Wood described the habitat as lower montane forest on sandstone and shale bedrock, oak laurel forest (Wood 2001).
The Leiden specimen L0269509 states that it was collected in Pahang, Malaysia. I doubt the provenance and further investigation is needed.
The Plants Description
The pseudobulbs crowd along a rhizome that branches and are shaped narrowly ovoid or fusiform. The pseudobulbs measure 1-5cm long and 0.4-1.0cm in diameter. The pseudobulbs are shiny grey-green and more or less suffused with red. The pseudobulbs are covered by 2-4 cataphylls while they are growing. The cataphylls disintegrate into persistent fibres as the pseudobulbs mature. The leaves are petiolate; the petiole measures 2-7mm long. The blades are shaped ovate, oblong-elliptic or oblong-oblanceolate with obtuse to subacute apices. The blades measure 5.5-8cm long and 2.5-3.1cm wide. The leaves are thin textured, green above, grey-green below and suffused with red. The blades have 7-9 distinct nerves.
The Inflorescence
The inflorescence is synanthous. The peduncle is arching and measures 2-5.5cm long. The rachis is quadrangular in cross section, pendent and measures 18-35cm long. The rachis is dull red. The flowers alternate distichously and are spaced 3-4mm apart. There is 1 non-floriferous bract at the base of the rachis. The bracts are pale salmon pink. The flowers open from the central part of the rachis.
The Flowers
Jeffrey Wood wrote (2001) that often 80 or more flowers can grow on an inflorescence. The flowers are coloured bright yellowish green, the sepals with a darker keel outside, the labellum pale olive, side lobes pale greenish-white, mid lobe yellowish green with two brown streaks (Wood 2001). The sepals and petals slightly incurve at about their middle, their margins recurve. The dorsal sepal is shaped oblong-elliptic with an acute apex. The dorsal sepal measures c5.3mm long and c1.8mm wide. The dorsal sepal has entire margins and is 3-veined. The lateral sepals are shaped slightly obliquely ovate-elliptic and have acute subfalcate apices. The lateral sepals measure c5mm long and c2mm wide. The lateral sepals have entire margins and are 3-veined. The petals are shaped oblong-elliptic with acute apices that are subfalcate. The petals measure c4.8mm long and c1.7mm wide. The petals have minutely erose margins and are 3 veined. The labellum is 3-lobed, stipitate to the column foot by a narrow claw, pendent, 3-veined and minutely papillose. The labellum measures c3.7mm long and c2mm wide. The side lobes are rounded and make the hypochile appear a suborbicular shape. The side lobe distal sinus can have 1 or more teeth that are shaped narrowly triangular; the margins on the side lobes are erose. The mid-lobe is shaped oblong-oblanceolate or oblong from a cuneate base with a rounded and shortly apiculate apex. The margins are sometimes minutely erose on the mid-lobe. There are two short keels that run from the hypochile base and terminate at the base of the mid-lobe. There is a prominent nerve located between the two keels. The keels are papillose. The column is gently incurved and measures c2.5mm long. The column foot is short. The apical hood is ovate with a truncate apex that is obscurely dentate. The stelidia grow upwards from the base of the column. The stelidia do not reach the apical hood and are generally shorter than the anther cap. The stelidia are shaped linear-ligulate with obtuse apices. The stelidia apices are sometimes bifid and papillose.
Herbarium Specimens
Holotype
SING
Isotype
AMES
Specimen 98746 (photo)
Kew Botanical Garden (K)
Other herbarium specimens
E
Kew Botanical Garden (K)
British Natural History Museum (BM)
Specimen Clemens, J. & Clemens, M.S. 29295
Specimen Clemens, J. & Clemens, M.S. 29361
Specimen Clemens, J. & Clemens, M.S. 29412
Specimen Clemens, J. & Clemens, M.S. 28949
Specimen Clemens, J. & Clemens, M.S. s.n.
HBG
National Herbarium Netherlands, Leiden (L)
Scent
I could find no record
Flowering Season
Flowering plants have been collected in the wild from October to January and from April to May.
Culture
I do not think this species is in general cultivation. There is at least one plant in the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden.
Similar Species
Dendrochilum longirachis
Dendrochilum gracile
Dendrochilum truncatum
Dendrochilum papillosum
Other Information
The epithet refers to the narrow mid-lobe of the labellum.
Reference -
WOOD, Jeffrey. Dendrochilum of Borneo, 2001. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Malaysia.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 15 July 2009. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.kew.org/wcsp/ accessed 15 July 2009.