Orchids of New Guinea

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Dendrobium moiorum

Dendrobium moiorum Saputra, Schuit., Wanma & Naive, Phytotaxa 430, 2) (2020) 142, fig. 1-2

Type: Reza 303 (holo MAN, spirit; iso BO, herbarium, KRB, spirit

Epiphyte. Roots to 10 by c. 0.2 cm, stiff, unbranched. Rhizome very short, creeping, sometimes branched, covered by deciduous, dull yellow to brown scale leaves. Pseudobulb clustered, erect, bottle-shaped, tapering to the apex, 1-leaved, sulcate, 15–35.5 by 1.6 cm, the top part 0.3 cm wide, the base covered by deciduous scale leaves. Leaves erect, elliptic to lanceolate, rarely oblanceolate, 13.0–23.5 by 3.3–4.0 cm; base cuneate to attenuate; margin entire; apex emarginate or unequally bilobed; glabrous; coriaceous. Spathe formed by 3 ovate to triangular scale-leaves c. 3.5 by 0.7 cm (when flattened 1.4 cm wide), papery, glabrous, with entire margin and acute apex Inflorescences from the apex of the pseudobulb, 1-flowered, singly or sometimes in pairs, nodding; peduncle 2.0–2.3 cm long, terete, glabrous. Pedicel and ovary clavate, slightly curved, to 9 cm long, terete, glabrous. Flowers to 8 cm across, ephemeral. Median sepal erect, ovate-triangular in basal part, narrowly linear in apical part, 6.1–6.4 by 0.4–0.5 cm, tapering, glabrous, white in the lower half, pale yellow towards apex; margin entire, apex slightly twisted, caudate, cucullate. Lateral sepals spreading, slight obliquely triangular in basal part, narrowly linear in apical part, falcate, 5.4–6.4 by 0.5–0.6 cm, tapering, glabrous, white in the lower half, pale yellow towards apex, margin entire, apex slightly twisted, caudate, cucullate; mentum 0.45 mm long. Petals narrowly ovate in basal part, linear in apical part, slightly falcate, 5.1–5.4 by 0.25–0.26 cm, tapering, glabrous, white in the lower half, pale yellow towards apex, margin entire, apex slightly twisted, caudate, cucullate. Lip porrect from a suberect base, 3-lobed, recurved, pandurate, c. 1.32–1.35 by 0.5–0.7 cm when flattened; hypochile base cuneate, keels 2, parallel, from base of the lip to top of the claw of the midlobe, c. 0.33 cm long, straight, on claw wider apart, undulate, with erect, in front more or less rounded lateral lobes, glabrous; epichile spatulate, 0.45–0.55 cm long, clawed, claw almost rectangular, with two parallel undulate keels from the base to the apex of the claw, minutely papillose between the keels, margin strongly undulate, the blade wider than the claw, when flattened about transversely rectangular, apex 3-lobed, each lobe about triangular with rounded apex. Column c. 0.5 cm long, obtuse; anther rectangular-rounded, cucullate, in front minutely dentate, laterally on on either side with a short, subulate projection; pollinia 4 in 2 pairs, narrowly ovoid, 0.15–0.16 by 0.04–0.06 cm. Fruit not seen.
(after Reza et al., 2020).

Colours:

Roots white to brown. Pseudobulb green to olive green, the base covered by dull yellow-brown scale leaves. Leaves dark green and shiny, below bright green. Scale-leaves of dull yellow to brown. Pedicel and ovary pale green. Sepals and petals in lower half white, upper half pale yellow. Lip hypochile creamy white to pale yellowish; epichile claw bright yellow, the blade white. Column white; anther pale yellow; pollinia dull pale yellow-brown.

Habitat:

Epiphyte in lowland rainforest in shaded and semi-open places without direct sunlight. Altitude c. 100 m

Distribution:

Malesia (New Guinea), endemic

Distribution New Guinea:

Indonesia (Papua Prov.), see map

Cultivation:

Warm growing epiphyte.

Flowering time in the wild:

February and July-September

Classification:

Family Orchidaceae
Subfamily Epidendroideae
Tribe Dendrobieae
Subtribe Dendrobiinae
Genus Dendrobium
Section Diplocaulobium
Subsection Mekynosepalum
Species Dendrobium moiorum

Notes:

Dendrobium moiorum Saputra, Schuit., Wanma & Naive is similar to Dendrobium isthmiferum J.J.Sm. in the papillose patch on the midlobe of the lip, but differs in the longer leaves (13–23.5 cm versus 6.8–10 cm), the narrower but about equally long lip (0.5–0.7 versus 1.1 cm wide when flattened) which has no red or purple markings, the epichile with rectangular claw (versus claw cuneate) with strongly undulate margins (versus not undulating) .