Dendrobium crumenatum

{{Speciesbox

|name = Pigeon orchid

|image = Dendrobium crumenatum.jpg

|image_caption =

|genus = Dendrobium

|species = crumenatum

|authority = {{cite web |title=Dendrobium crumenatum |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:627202-1#synonyms |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=29 November 2024}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms={{collapsible list|bullets = true

|title=List

|Onychium crumenatum (Sw.) Blume

|Callista crumenata (Sw.) Kuntze

|Aporum crumenatum (Sw.) Brieger in F.R.R.Schlechter

|Epidendrum caninum Burm.f.

|Ceraia simplicissima Lour.

|Epidendrum saaronicum J.Koenig in A.J.Retzius

|Epidendrum ceraia Raeusch.

|Dendrobium ceraia Lindl.

|Dendrobium schmidtianum Kraenzl.

|Dendrobium papilioniferum J.J.Sm.

|Dendrobium simplicissimum (Lour.) Kraenzl. in H.G.A.Engler

|Dendrobium kwashotense Hayata

|Dendrobium crumenatum var. parviflorum Ames & C.Schweinf. in O.Ames

|Dendrobium caninum (Burm.f.) Merr.

|Aporum kwashotense (Hayata) Rauschert

|Aporum papilioniferum (J.J.Sm.) Rauschert

|Ceraia saaronica (J.Koenig) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones

|Ceraia papilionifera (J.J.Sm.) M.A.Clem.

|Ceraia parviflora (Ames & C.Schweinf.) M.A.Clem.

}}}}

Dendrobium crumenatum, commonly called pigeon orchid,{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories|date=2006|publisher=New Holland|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1877069124|page=383}} or 木石斛 (mu shi hu){{cite web |title=Dendrobium crumenatum |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=220003935 |publisher=Flora of China |accessdate=3 December 2018}} is an epiphytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is native to Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Christmas Island. It has two rows of leaves along its pseudobulb and relatively large but short-lived, strongly scented white flowers. It usually grows in exposed positions in lowland rainforest and coastal scrub.

Description

Dendrobium crumenatum produces upright, sympodial, pseudobulbs {{convert|300-700|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|8-12|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide that are swollen at the first three or four lower nodes. The middle portion of the pseudobulb has two rows of leathery, oblong to egg-shaped leaves {{convert|50-80|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-20|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide. Top portion of the pseudobulb bears pure white flowers {{convert|30-40|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and wide. The dorsal sepal and petals are {{convert|15-18|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-7|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide, the lateral sepals slightly longer and wider. The labellum is {{convert|20-24|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|13-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide with three lobes. The side lobes are erect and the middle lobe is rounded with five yellow ridges. Flowering is sporadic but is triggered nine days after a sudden drop in temperature of at least 5.5 °C, usually as a result of rain, although the same effect can be artificially created. The flowers are fragrant, but the scent lasts only for one day.The Orchids of the Philippines, J.Cootes 2011 Joseph Arditti describes the flowering as "gregarious". All the flower buds in a geographic area will bloom on the same day, for exactly one day, none early, none late.{{cite book |editor-last1=Arditti |editor-first1=Joseph |title=Orchid Biology: Reviews and Perspectives |volume=5 |date=1990 |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland Oregon |page=21}}

Taxonomy and naming

Dendrobium crumenatum was first formally described in 1799 by Olof Swartz and the description was published in Heinrich Schrader's Journal für die Botanik.{{cite journal |last1=Swartz |first1=Olof |title=Dianome Epidendri generis |journal=Journal für die Botanik |date=1799 |volume=4 |page=237 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433011408923;view=1up;seq=301 |accessdate=3 December 2018}}{{cite web|title=Dendrobium crumenatum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/504022|accessdate=3 December 2018}} The specific epithet (crumenatum) is derived from the Latin word crumena meaning "leather moneybag".{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|authorlink1=Roland W. Brown|page=117}}

Distribution and habitat

The pigeon orchid usually grows in exposed locations, often in lowland rainforest or coastal scrub. It is found in India, Indochina, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Christmas Island. It is reportedly naturalized in Fiji, Hawaii, the West Indies and the Seychelles.Orchidiana Philippiniana vol1 Valmayor 1984