Synonyms

 

Acoridium curranii (Ames) Ames, Orchidaceae 7: 80 (1922).

 

Origin in the Wild

 

Luzon

 

Elevation in the Wild

 

600-2000 metres

 

Habitat in the Wild

 

The type was collected by H. M. Curran on Mount Maquiling in Laguna Province. Further plants have been collected from Mount Banahao also in Laguna Province. This plant has been collected at Montalban in Rizal Province.

 

This plant has mostly been collected in mossy forest and always as an epiphyte.

 

The Plants Description

 

The pseudobulbs cluster on a short to slightly elongate rhizome and are shaped fusiform. The pseudobulbs measure 1.1-3.3cm long and 0.2-0.4cm diameter. The pseudobulbs are covered by 3-5 cataphylls while they are growing. The cataphylls soon disintegrate into persistent fibres as the pseudobulbs mature. The leaves are petiolate; the petiole measures 0.6-2.9cm long. The leaf blades are shaped linear to lanceolate and have obtuse to acute apices. The leaf blades measure 2.9-11.2cm long and 0.4-1.2cm wide.

 

Herbarium Specimens

 

Lectotype

 

Ames

 

Specimen 18861 (photo)

Specimen 18860 (photo)

 

Isotype

 

Philippine National Herbarium, (PNH)

 

Specimen - destroyed

 

Other herbarium specimens

 

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)

 

Specimen 60110.000

Specimen 70872.000

 

Scent

 

Yes, a sweet scent

 

Flowering Season

 

Flowering plants have been collected in the wild during March and from December to January. In cultivation outside the tropics this plant flowers from late autumn to winter.

 

The Inflorescence

 

The inflorescence is synanthous and grows with the new leaf. The peduncle is suberect to curved and measures 1.6-15cm long. The rachis is pendent and measures 1.4-8cm long. The flowers alternate distichously and are spaced 1-1.5mm apart. There are 1-3 appressed non-floriferous bracts at the base of the rachis. The flowers open from the proximal section of the rachis.

 

The Flowers

 

Henrik Pedersen described the flowers as yellowish white with a reddish brown labellum (Pedersen 1997). Between 40 and 50 flowers grow on an inflorescence. The sepals and petals spread widely. The dorsal sepal is shaped lanceolate and has an acuminate apex. The dorsal sepal measures 1.9-3mm long and 0.4-0.8mm wide. The dorsal sepal is 3 veined and has entire margins. The lateral sepals are shaped obliquely lanceolate and have acuminate apices. The lateral sepals measure 2.2-3.1mm long and 0.7-1.1mm wide. The lateral sepals are 3 veined and have entire margins. The petals are shaped linear-lanceolate and have acuminate apices. The petals measure 1.8-2.6mm long and 0.3-0.4mm wide. The petals are 1 veined and have entire margins. The labellum is porrect and 3-lobed. The labellum measures 0.7-1.2mm long and 1.1-1.4mm wide. The labellum is obscurely 3-veined, glabrous and has entire margins. The side lobes are shaped broadly and falcately oblong with rounded apices and are shorter than the mid-lobe. The mid-lobe is shaped triangular with a hastate base and an acuminate apex. There are 3 calli located on the disc, the lateral calli are located at the base of each side-lobe, the median callus is oblongoid and centrally located. The column is suberect to straight; it measures 0.5-0.9mm long. The column is somewhat hooded at its apex. Stelidia and column foot are absent.

 

Culture

 

This species is commonly found in cultivation around the world, I have seen plants in Australia, the European Union and the Philippines. Be careful of mis-labelled plants.

 

Similar Species

 

Dendrochilum microchilum

Dendrochilum curranii var. serratoi

Dendrochilum asperum (see this page for the differences)

Dendrochilum tenuifolium

 

Other Information

 

Ames when first describing this species wrote that this species resembles Dendrochilum tenue (D. microchilum) although differing by the fact that the leaves are broader in proportion for their length. Ames also wrote that the flowers were different. Henrik Pedersen wrote that this species is most closely related to Dendrochilum cinnabarinum, Dendrochilum tenuifolium and Dendrochilum turpe.

 

The epithet refers to the collector of the type specimen, H.M. Curran.

 

Reference -

 

AMES, Oakes. 1908, Illustrations and studies of the Family Orchidaceae Facsimile 3, Ames Botanical Laboratory, North Easton, Massachusetts, Boston.

 

COOTES, Jim. The Orchids of the Philippines, 2001. Timber Press, USA

 

PEDERSEN, Henrik. 1997, The Genus Dendrochilum (Orchidaceae) in the Philippines - A Taxonomic Revision. Opera Botanica, Denmark

 

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 25 January 2009. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.kew.org/wcsp/ accessed 25 January 2009.