Selbyana 28(2): 117-122.2007. DENDROBIUM SWARTZ SECTION HERBACEA KRANZLIN (ORCHIDACEAE) HOWARD P. WOOD, M.D. Associate in Botany, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19003, USA. Correspondence: 3300 Darby Road C-802, Haverford, PA 19041, USA. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT. Dendrobium Sw. Section Herbacea Kraenz!. is revived for two Asian species, Dendrobium herbaceum Lind!. and D. parcum Rchb.f. Definitive characters are branching, deciduous habit; short, few flowered racemes arising from the branches, often apparently terminal; and small simple flowers with decurved saccate mentum. The type species is D. herbaceum. There appears to be a third, unidentified, species. Key words: Orchidaceae, Epidendroidere, Dendrobiinre, Dendrobium herbaceum, D. parcum, D. ramosis simum, section Herbacea Two species of Dendrobium have never fit 1981, Joseph 1987). It is evidently common in well into any of the sections of the genus in the Western Ghats, although I have not seen or current use. These are Indian D. herbaceum read about its cultivation in the West. The best Lindl. (1840) and Southeast Asian D. parcum drawings among the above sources appear in Rchb.f. (1866). These plants are similar and Pradhan (1979) and Abraha= and Vatsala very distinctive, with multiple upcurving, linear (1981). to fusiform branches, leafy on the terminal Dendrobium herbaceum may reach 90 cm (35 branches or branchlets only, and usually decid inches) in height. The flower has lip down uous before flowering. The leaves are acumi curved and constricted near the middle, with the nate; the roots are smooth. Short racemes bear proximal edges slightly rolled upward, forming up to about 5 flowers, each 1 cm or less in di rudimentary side lobes. The blade is ovoid, ameter. The inflorescences usually appear to be coming to a blunt point. The flowers are de terminal on the leafless branches, but may also scribed as green (Lindley 1840), greenish-white be lateral. The flowers have a deflexed, saccate (Santapau and Kapadia 1966) and pale yellow mentum and prominent lip. In D. parcum the (Joseph 1987). Abraham and Vatsala (1981) de column is short, rostellum bifid, anterior surface scribe them as white with a yellow lip (FIGURE of the column foot hollowed and broadened 3). As discussed below, some authors may be around and below the orbicular stigma. The pol referring to a third species. linia are unusually short and broad for the genus. Apparently unaware of Lindley's taxon, Rob Drawings of D. herbaceum, in the references cit ert Wight, surgeon-botanist for the East India ed (FIGURES 1, 2, 3), show similar features. The Company in Madras, described from dried ma only obvious distinguishing character among the terial a (misspelled) D. ramossissimum ("very species, including an unnamed entity discussed branched") (FIGURE 4). The description and below, is lip structure. drawing (FIGURE 5) in his leones are labeled, t. Dendrobium herbaceum ("yellow-green"), 1648 (Wight 1852). Below, following Lindley, I described by John Lindley (1840), is endemic to refer to his drawing as "R. W. t. 1648." The the peninsula of India. Although reported from specimen, now in Wight's herbarium at Kew, other locations, this species typically inhabits the had been collected by Jerdon in the Coorg (now Western Ghats, the range of mountains extend Koorg) jungles in the Western Ghats, midway ing the length of the west coast of the peninsula. down the peninsula. Wight's detailed drawing Lindley sketched the lip shape clearly on his shows the distinctive lip of D. herbaceum. He type sheet (FIGURE 2), where he noted that the describes the flowers as yellow. specimen had been imported by the firm of Lod Lindley's sheet of D. ramosissimum (he cor diges from the "East Indies," a term which in rected the spelling) is in his own herbarium, now those days included India. This species is dis kept separately at Kew (FIGURE 6). It contains cussed, with drawings but without photographs, not Wight's but two later specimens. Indicating in subsequent literature on the orchids of India that he (incorrectly) considered it a type, Lindley (Hooker 1890, Fischer 1928, Santapau & Ka attached a label across the base of the stem of padia 1966, Pradhan 1979, Abraham & Vatsala the plant on the right, marked "R. W. Ie. 1648" 117 118 SELBYANA Volume 28(2) 2007 FIGURE 2. Dendrobium herbaceum Lindl., type sheet drawing, enlarged detail. FIGURE 1. Dendrobium herbaceum Lind!. type Wight described and figured. In addition, Abra specimen; published with permission from The Royal ham and Vatsala (1981) show, for one of the two Botanic Gardens, Kew. flower specimens of "D. herbaceum" in their sketch, the lip distally expanded and grooved. This flower resembles that of the Ker plant. and noted its ongm as "Dalzell, S. Concan Lindley, seven years after Wight's description, R.160, 52 Herb J. E. Stocks." Labeling this commented on D. ramosissimum: "This is very specimen in a manner he reserved for types near my D. herbaceum (Lindley 1840, Bot. Reg. seems to be one of several uncharacteristic mis 1840, misc. 153), but the flowers are white with takes in Lindley'S late work on the Dendrobi a yellow lip, not white tinged with green; the lip inae, including the 1859 paper. These may be itself is longer and more fleshy, and the flowers early signs of his fatal dementia. His mental are considerably smaller. I have examined fresh powers failing, he retired from his professorship specimens out of Mr. Bellenden Ker's garden in 1861, had a "breakdown" in 1862 and died from Dharwar." (Lindley 1859). Dharwar, now in 1865 (Stearn 1991, 1999). Hubli-Dharwar or Hubli, is a city 400 kIn (250 Although Lindley (1859) kept the two taxa mi) southeast of Bombay, east of Koorg. For the separate on unclear grounds, the type sheets in (erroneous) type reference, in his 1859 paper dicate that D. ramossissimum Wight is a syno Lindley writes, "S. Concan, Dalzell in hb. nym of D. herbaceum Lindl. I am retaining both Hooker. (Stocks, 52)." Thus the right-hand spec spellings, Wight's and Lindley's, for purposes of imen on Lindley's sheet, Stocks 52, came from clarity, since two taxa seem to be involved and, the Hooker herbarium, and Lindley seems to indeed, the name in either case is illegitimate. have incorrectly considered it his lectotype for The plant on the left side of Lindley's sheet D. ramossissimum Wight. The Ker plant on the for Dendrobium ramosissimum is marked, "H. left and in the drawing is obviously one of those B .. Ker, Dharwar." Adjoining it in the center, and which Lindley received alive and described in similarly labeled, is a drawing of a white flower the quotation above. Thus I believe that it rep with a straight, fleshy, rounded lip. The blade is resents a still-undescribed species, which I will yellowish brown with a medial groove extending call "D. ramosissimum sensu Lindley, non to the tip. The rudimentary sidelobes are slightly Wight." uprolled. This plant is certainly not the taxon George Bentham and J. D. Hooker (1883), WOOD: DENDROBIUM SECTION HERBACEA 119 FIGURE 3. Dendrobium herbaceum drawing in Abraham and Vatsala "1981." Introduction to Orchids. Fig. 91, p. 367. Flower images D and H resemble Dendrobium ramossissmum sensu Lindley. when forming a new subsection Ramosissima with a branching stem like D. ramosissimum" (see below), cited only Wight leones t. 1648, (Reichenbach 1866). I have not seen the type indicating D. ramossissimum as the only species. sheet, which is presumably in Reichenbach's Hooker later, however, in his work on Indian or herbarium in Vienna. Seidenfaden has discussed chids (1890), reduced D. ramossissimum to syn this species, with a drawing and flower photo onymy with D. herbaceum. He did not refer to graph, in his treatment of Dendrobium in Thai the possible third entity on the Lindley sheet. land (1985). Nunt (1999) has found it in several The later authors listed above have followed parts of Myanmar. him. Since World War II, native orchids have not Dendrobium parcum has long been exported been widely exported from southern India, and from Thailand. I have grown and photographed these plants are not in general cultivation over it. The lip is not constricted, and there are no seas. side lobes. The blade gently expands distally, Dendrobium parcum (meaning "scanty, mea with a squarish and slightly ecarinate tip. The ger"), the second established species in section flowers are concolor dull yellow, the lip some Herbacea, inhabits Myanmar (Burma), Thai times variably speckled with purple. Seidenfad land, and Vietnam, and presumably also inter en (1992) considered the Vietnamese D. parcoi vening Cambodia and Laos. After the conquest des Guillaumin (1955) synonymous. At issue are of Burma, the indefatigable Rev. C. S. P. Parish, only the lip markings, inconstant in both taxa. British chaplain at Moulmein, found this species A fifth taxon in the section is D. listeroglossum in the southern peninsular area called Tenasser Kraenzl. (1892), which the author later (Kran im. The plant was flowered in England by Low zlin 1910) reduced to synonymy with D. par & Co., who submitted it to H. G. Reichenbach cum. for identification. Its name fits his comment in George Bentham and J. D. Hooker (1883), in the description: "a very poor-looking specimen their reclassification of Dendrobium, created a 120 SELBYANA Volume 28(2) 2007 FIGURE 4. Dendrobium ramossissmum sensu Wight, detail from type specimen. FIGURE 5. Dendrobium ramosissimum-Wight detail from type drawing. WOOD: DENDROBIUM SECTION HERBACEA 121 FIGURE 6. Dendrobium ramosissimum [sic] Wight type drawing. "Dendrobium ramossissimum" sensu Lind ley. Lindley's drawing of specimen Stocks 52. subsection Ramosissimae within section Stach land (1985) and Indochina (1992) reluctantly yobium. As noted above, in the description they followed Kriinzlin. He included D. parcum in a named no species but referred to Wight Ie. t. broad section Pedilonum, suggesting (1985) that 1648, the citation for D. ramossissimum. Later it might be better placed "elsewhere." Hooker (1890) grouped D. herbaceum and D. The species under discussion do not have the parcum together as the only members of an un unbranched stem, long inflorescence, or clearly named subgroup in section Stachyobium, with three-lobed and usually pointed lip with conical D. ramossissimum a synonym of D. herbaceum. mentum which are characteristic of section Kriinzlin (1910), in his monograph on the Stachyobium. Nor do they have the unbranched Dendrobiinae, created a section Herbacea in stem, condensed raceme, simple ovoid lip, or Dendrobium, within a subgenus Eudendrobium, long straight mentum of section Pedilonum. In specifying a lip with side lobes (borderline cor her review of the latter section, Dauncey (2003) rect for D. herbaceum, incorrect for D. parcum). omits them. He included along with D. herbaceum 4 other Thus, these humble but intriguing plants re species, 3 of which correctly belong in other quire their own section, which assumes the ear sections, and 1 which is nebulous. These are D. liest applicable name at sectional level. Krtin (Stachyobium) heyneanum Lindl., D. (Fytchian zlin's Herbacea is the only possibility despite the) graminifolium Wight, and poorly known D. the faults of his protologue, lack of a type spe miserum Rchb.f., all from Asia; and D. (Ma crostachyum) polycladium Rchb.f. from New cies, and heterogeneity of the taxa originally in Caledonia. Kranzlin placed D. parcum in anoth cluded. D. herbaceum Kraenzl., the only surviv er subgenus, Pedilonum, for species lacking ing taxon from the original list and the one sidelobes. whose name identifies the section, is the type Section Herbacea has been ignored by sub species under the rules (Greuter et al. 1994). sequent taxonomists. Pradhan (1979), in his sur Section Herbacea includes the following taxa: vey of Indian orchids, generally followed Ben tham and Hooker, placing D. herbaceum in a 1. Dendrobium herbaceum Lindl. subgroup of a subsection of section Stachyob Synonym: D. ramossissimum Wight. ium. Pradhan also assigned there the Indian 2. D. parcum Rchb. f. members of section Fytchianthe Schltr. On the Synonyms: D. parcoides Guillaumin. other hand, Seidenfaden in his works on Thai- D. listeroglossum Kraenzl. 122 SELBYANA Volume 28(2) 2007 3. Unnamed species (D. ramosissimum sensu Dauncey, E. 2003. A taxonomic revision of Dendro Lind!., non Wight). bium section Pedilonum (Orchidaceae). Harvard Papers in Botany 7(2): 151-320. From the point of view of morphology, the Fischer, CE.C. 1928. Orchidaceae, v. 3. In J.S. Gam affinities of section Herbacea are unclear. No ble, ed. Flora of the Presidency of Madras. Reprint other Asian section closely resembles it. Its 1984. Guillaumin. A. 1955. Dendrobium parcoides. Bull. branching habit and primitive flower structure Mus. Paris II, 27 (2): 142. recall the tall-growing terrestrial section Macro Hall, R. and J.D. HoJloway, eds. 1996. Biogeography cladium of New Caledonia, which, however, has and Geological Evolution of SE Asia. Backhuys, verrucose roots. DNA study by Yukawa (2001) Leiden. places it sister to section Fytchianthe but not Hooker, J.D. 1890. Flora of British India 5: 719. Re close to section Stachyobium, and far distant print 1973. from section Macrocladium. Joseph, J. 1987. Orchids of Nilgiris. Botanical Survey The members of section Herbacea in southern of India, Calcutta. Krlinzlin, F. 1892. Dendrobium listeroglossum. Xen. India and southeast Asia have evidently been Orch. 3: 108 and t. 260. separated by the intermittent development of ---. 1910. Orchidaceae-Monandrae-Dendrobi aridity in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, subsequently inae. In A. Engler. ed. Das Pflanzenreich 45: 1- evolving into distinct species. Many other plant 382. groups have a similar disjunct distribution. Kroenke, L. 1996. Plate tectonic development of the western and southwestern Pacific: Mesozoic to the present. Pp.19-34 in A. Keast and S.E. Miller. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS eds. The Origin and Evolution of Pacific Island Biotas, New Guinea to Eastern Polynesia: Patterns I thank Elizabeth Dauncey and Jeffrey J. and Processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Am Wood at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and sterdam. A. E. Schuyler at the Academy of Natural Sci Lindley, J. 1840. Dendrobium herbaceum. Bot. Reg. ences of Philadelphia, for help with this paper. I 26: Misc. 69. also appreciate permission to examine, photo ---. 1859. Contributions to the orchidology of In graph, and publish images of specimens in the dia n. Proc. Linn. Soc. (Botany) 3: 1-63. Nunt, Kyaw. 1999. Dendrobiums of Myanmar. Pp. 85- Lindley Herbarium and Wight Herbarium at the 99 in Proc. 6th Asia Pacific Orchid Conf. Towns Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I thank G. Sree ville. Townsville Orchid Society, Australia. kandan Nair, Director of the Tropical Garden Pradhan, U. 1979. Indian Orchids: Guide to Identifi and Research Institute, Palode, Kerala, India, for cation and Culture, Vol. 2. Published by author, permission to reproduce Figure 3. Kalimpong, India. Reichenbach. H.G. 1866. Dendrobium parcum. Gard. Chron. 1866: 1042. LITERATURE CITED Santapau, H. and Z. Kapadia. 1966. Orchids of Bom bay. Manager of Publications. Civil Lines, Delhi. Abraham, A. and P. Vatsala. 1981. Introduction to Or Seidenfaden, G. 1985. 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Plate tectonic background to bio Wight, R. 1852. leones Plantarum Indiae Orientalis 5: geographical development in the Southwest Pacif 6 and t.1648. ic over the last 100 million years. Palaeogeogra Yukawa. T. 2001. Molecular phylogeny of Dendro phy, Palaeoclimatology. Palaeoecology 31: 105- bium. In Proceedings of the 7th Asia Pacific Or 121. chid Conference, Nagoya, Japan.