This was a gift in Thailand

[Acharn]

This sympodial was given to me by the parents of a nephew-by-marriage, who live in Phitsanulok, Thailand. It appears to have been gathered in the wild. It is on a tree branch about two inches thick, and there are ten pseudo-bulbs on the rhizome. I don't have an adequate reference book yet, but I did find one picture of an Oncidium that seemed to have this shape of bulb. I included a ruler in the picture so you can see the bulbs are about six inches high, and they have four or five leaves.

I just got the plant last week, so I've never seen it in bloom, and their enthusiastic statement that, "It has very beautiful flowers," doesn't help much. I sure would like to know what species it is so I would know better how to care for it. Luckily I live in Thailand, so it should thrive outdoors if I can find out how much light it needs.

I really would like to find some way to get this plant off the branch and divide it into three, but the roots are so solidly attached to the wood that I may not be able to do that without killing the plant.

[Roy]

This looks like a Dendrobium of some sort. If its a Thai Native I have no idea which one. Not up with them.

[Acharn]

Originally Posted by Roy

This looks like a Dendrobium of some sort. If its a Thai Native I have no idea which one. Not up with them.

You think so? It doesn't look like any picture I've ever seen of a dendrobium. They've all had longer, thinner canes with the leaves growing along the whole length of the cane.

It was certainly growing wild in Thailand. I don't know to what extent species native to other regions have been imported and escaped to the wild, but suppose it's pretty rare.

[abiom]

I've seen this one before but cant remember details. If not mistaken,this plant falls dosnt come frm this region

[Tom-DE]

Dendrobium is one of the biggest genera of orchid. There are 1200-1500 species and they have different growths, plant size and flowers. Based on the look of your plant, I think it is Dendrobium chrysotoxum. This species can be found in China, India, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

You can grow Den. chrysotxum potted or mounted under intermediate/warm condition, bright light. A couple of months of winter rest(cooler and drier) is benefitial.

BTW, I would let that plant grow a bit bigger before dividing it.

[Acharn]

Originally Posted by Tom-DE

Dendrobium is one of the biggest genera of orchid. There are 1200-1500 species and they have different growths, plant size and flowers. Based on the look of your plant, I think it is Dendrobium chrysotoxum. This species can be found in China, India, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

Ah, that's helpful. I'll see what more I can find on the Web. Wooo! Gorgeous! I think you're right, but I'll have to wait until it blooms, probably January or February.

You can grow Den. chrysotxum potted or mounted under intermediate/warm condition, bright light. A couple of months of winter rest(cooler and drier) is benefitial.

Sounds good. I noticed before that my dendrobiums did better if I cut back on watering during the cool season (Thailand's equivalent of winter).

BTW, I would let that plant grow a bit bigger before dividing it.

Really? It's quite large already. Maybe the picture I posted doesn't show it well enough. There are ten stalks or pseudo-bulbs on the rhizome, and the rhizome wraps around the thick tree branch. Right now I've just got the branch with plant sitting in a basket, but some of the bulbs are upright while others are down in the basket. The roots are so tightly wrapped around the branch I doubt I could get them off without killing the plant.

[got ants]

Far from being an expert, but to me it looks like a schomburgkia. I've seen them on ebay from a thai grower.

[Tom-DE]

Originally Posted by got ants

Far from being an expert, but to me it looks like a schomburgkia. I've seen them on ebay from a thai grower.

Schomburgkia species are not from Asia and they only have one inflorescent at the tip of the pbulb. This Den on photo had more than one spikes on the pbulbs.

[Acharn]

Originally Posted by Tom-DE

Schomburgkia species are not from Asia and they only have one inflorescent at the tip of the pbulb. This Den on photo had more than one spikes on the pbulbs.

There's a good picture of Den. Chrysotoxum at Nature Products Network. The fourth picture down on the page shows a clear picture of the pseudobulbs. It looks exactly like my plant. A couple of the bulbs even have old dried flower spikes -- more than one on some of the bulbs.

We'll know better when it blooms, probably sometime next year.

I have a second plant that has bulbs of the same shape but much smaller, only two inches high, and only two leaves coming from the top of the bulbs. My nephew-in-law says the flowers are white. Presumably another dendrobium.

[Tom-DE]

The last one you posted may not be a Den. sp. It may be Eria species or Epigeneium species. I would like to see the detail of the flowers and where the spikes come from...