The genus Dendrobium (Den-DRO-bee-um) was established by Schwartz in 1799 and currently numbers more than 1000 species, distributed throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, the islands of the South Pacific and into Australia. The name Dendrobium comes from ancient Greek dendros, meaning tree and bios meaning life in reference to the epiphytic nature of this genus.

Growth habit:  The remarkable variation in growth habit and flower form notwithstanding, all species of Dendrobium share the presence of a spur or mentum formed from the fusion of the base of the lateral sepals.

The cultural requirements of this large and complex genus depend on the native habitat of the species in question and the section of the genus to which it belongs. Please refer to the different sections of Dendrobium for cultural information. The Sections are:

Amblyanthus, Aporum, Australorchis, Bolbidium, Breviflores, Calcarifera, Callista, Calyptrochilusm, Conostalix,  Cuthbertsonia, Dendrobium, Dendrocoryne, Dichopus, Distichophyllum, Dolichocentrum, Eleutheroglossum, Eriopexis, Euphlebium, Formosae, Fytchianthe, Herpetophytum, Inobulbum, Kinetochilus, Latouria, Lichenastrum, Macrocladium, Microphytanthe, Monanthos, Oxyglossum, Oxystophyllum, Pedilonum, Phalaenanthe, Platycaulon, Pleianthe, Rhizobium, Rhopalanthe, Spatulata (syn. sect. Ceratobium), Stachyobium, Strongyle, Tetrodon, Trachyrhizum

Your Sonoma County Orchid Society will continue to upload articles and cultural information on dendrobiums. This website will always be a work-in-progress.

The information provided above is with the permission of The American Orchid Society