Dear Peter, Thanks a lot for your opinion. The plant is definitely a jungle collected one. I'm sure Rosli will provide you with better quality pictures as you has requested for a positive id.
Regards Nik On 26 Jan 2005 at 23:25, Peter O'Byrne wrote: > Nik, Jim and Rosli, > > Rosli has got hold of a very interesting plant, quite unlike any > Dendrobium I've ever seen before. Unfortunately, it is not possible to > make a full identification, for several reasons: > > 1) Rosli said "it came from Terengganu". This is an inadequate > provenance ... before I could say it was a species (rather than a > man-made plant) I would need assurances that the plant had been > collected in the wild. This is exactly the sort of thing that is most > commonly found in nurseries, where people have been making hybrids or > playing with colchicine. Let's pretend it was wild-collected, and > continue. > > 2) The photo doesn't show the bits I really need to see. It gives a > nice impression of the inflorescence, but doesn't show much detail on > the flower. In this case, I'm particularly interested in seeing: (a) > the whole of the petals, preferably stretched out flat. (b) the shape > of the lip; the photo shows a fimbriate midlobe, but I can't clearly > see how the midlobe joins to the sidelobes (if there are any sidelobes > at all) and if the sidelobes are fimbriate. (c) a much better look at > the keels on the lip. (d) the gland(s) on the columnfoot. (e) the > exterior of the lateral sepals, and the shape of the mentum. > > 3) I have no idea how big the flower is. I REALLY wish people would > put a ruler (or other scale) in the photo. In this case, knowing the > size would be a big help in eliminating one or more possible > identities. > > 4) I can't tell which section the plant belongs in. I really do need a > photo of the whole plant (with a scale in the picture) to be certain > that I've got the section correct. In this case, I could eliminate 2 > of the possible identities if I knew the plant's habit. > > 5) I'm pretty certain the flower is peloric. The petals have acquired > some of the characters of the lip ... the long cilia are very obvious, > but (as far as I can tell) the outer half of the petal tip has the > shape of the midlobe. This considerably diminishes the prospects of > identifying the plant, because in peloric forms there are usually a > range of floral characters that have been altered, including shape, > size, colour, column details, and even the number of flowers on the > inflorescence. > > OK, I like a real challenge, so I'm going to stick my neck out and, > always assuming it is a real plant (not a colchicine-induced > monstrosity), have a crack at an identification. > > It probably belongs in section Breviflores, rather than more obvious > candidates like Calcarifera, Rhopalanthe, or Formosae. The Thai/Malay > area has 4 Breviflores species with a fimbriate midlobe. All 4 are > possibles: > > a) Dendrobium stuposum Lindley. Range is distant (Himalaya to north > Thailand) but not impossible. Stems quite thick & fleshy; more like # > Dendrobium than # Breviflores. Inflorescence always 1-2 flowered > (pelorism could alter this). Flowers white with yellow or green-yellow > on the lip. Midlobe noticably thickened. > > b) Dendrobium spegidoglossum Rchb.f. Range is correct; Thailand, > Myanmar, Malaysia, Sumatra and Java. Stems slender, <60 cm. > Inflorescence usually 5-6 flowered. Flowers smaller than D. stuposum, > pale yellow, darker brown-yellow patch on midlobe. Midlobe thickened, > 3 keels extend from lip base to base of midlobe. > > c) Dendrobium umbonatum Seidenfaden. Range: Thailand...Trat (quite a > distance from Terengganu). Stems slender. <35 cm. Inflorescence 1-4 > flowered. Flowers same size as D. stuposum, white, lip greenish-white > with yellow patch on midlobe. An unlikely candidate since the floral > bracts are nothing like the bracts in the photo (the midlobe is also > the wrong shape). > > d) Dendrobium pauciflorum King & Pantling. Range is distant (Himalaya > to north Thailand) but not impossible. Stems thick & fleshy; more like > # Dendrobium than # Breviflores. Inflorescences 1-8 flowered. Flowers > same size as D. spegidoglossum, creamy-white, sepals and petals with > red margins (pelorism could alter this). Midlobe noticably thickened, > the thickening continuing backwards into the throat of the flower, but > not reaching the lip base. Lateral sepals are externally keeled, the > keels forming a free-standing tooth where they extend beyond the sepal > apex. > > This plant is unlikely to be (c), but could be any of (a), (b) and > (d). I'd say D. spegidoglossum is the best candidate, but it is > impossible to be certain on the information provided. > > Cheers, > > Peter O'Byrne > Singapore > > _______________________________________________ > the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) > [email protected] > http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com --- Homepage : http://zanaf.dyndns.biz _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
