Dendrobium affine

Dendrobium affine, commonly known as the white butterfly orchid,[2] malakmalak or matngala in Australian Aboriginal languages[3] is an epiphytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has cylindrical pseudobulbs, each with up to ten leaves and flowering stems with up to twenty white flowers with yellow or purple markings on the labellum. It occurs in northern Australia, New Guinea and Timor, where it grows on the bark of trees.

White butterfly orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Dendrobieae
Genus: Dendrobium
Species:
D. affine
Binomial name
Dendrobium affine
Synonyms[1]
  • Onychium affine Decne.
  • Callista affinis (Decne.) Kuntze
  • Vappodes affinis (Decne.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones
  • Dendrobium dicuphum F.Muell.
  • Dendrobium leucolophotum Rchb.f.
  • Callista dicupha (F.Muell.) Kuntze
  • Callista leucolophota (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Dendrobium urvillei Finet
  • Dendrobium dicuphum var. grandiflorum Rupp & T.E.Hunt
  • Vappodes dicupha (F.Muell.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones

Description

Dendrobium affine is an epiphytic herb with cylindrical green pseudobulbs 200–700 mm (8–30 in) long and 15–25 mm (0.6–1 in) wide with between two and ten leaves on its upper half. The leaves are 80–200 mm (3–8 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.79–1.2 in) wide. The flowering stem is 200–500 mm (8–20 in) long and bears between two and twenty white flowers 20–30 mm (0.79–1.2 in) long and 25–45 mm (1–2 in) wide. The sepals are 16–20 mm (0.63–0.79 in) long, and 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) wide with the lateral sepals slightly wider than the dorsal sepal. The petals are about the same length as the sepals but broader. The labellum is yellow with purple markings, about 20 mm (0.8 in) long, 6 mm (0.2 in) wide and has three lobes. The side lobes are upright and the middle lobe often curves downwards and has five ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs from March to August.[2][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

The white tea tree orchid was first formally described in 1834 by Joseph Decaisne who gave it the name Onychium affine and published the description in Nouvelles annales du Muséum d'histoire naturelle.[6][7] In 1840 Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel changed the name to Dendrobium affine in his book Nomenclator Botanicus.[8][9] The specific epithet (affine) is a Latin word meaning "related to" or "neighboring".[10]

Distribution and habitat

Dendrobium affine is a bark epiphyte and grows on trees in moist places such as rainforest, on stream banks and in paperbark swamps. It is found in northern parts of the Northern Territory including Melville Island, the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Moluccas. It occurred on Timor in the past but may now be extinct there.[2][5][4][11][12]

References
  1. "Dendrobium affine". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 417–418. ISBN 978-1877069123.
  3. "Dendrobium dicuphum". Northern Territory Government; FloraNT. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  4. "Dendrobium afine". Orchids of New Guinea. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 484–485. ISBN 9780980296457.
  6. Decaisne, Joseph (1834). "Description d'un herbier de L'Ile de Timor". Nouvelles Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 3: 365. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. "Onychium affine". APNI. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  8. "Dendrobium affine". APNI. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  9. Steudel, Ernst (1840). Nomenclator Botanicus. Paris. p. 489. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 72.
  11. "Dendrobium affine". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  12. Silveira, Paulo; Schuiteman, Andre; Vermeulen, Jaap Jan; Sousa, Ana J.; Silva, Helena; Paiva, Jorge; de Vogel, Ed (2008). "The orchids of Timor: checklist and conservation status". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 157 (2): 197–215. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2008.00796.x. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
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