Dendrobium ruscifolium [Macarthur]
Unidentified species, no description.
Horticultural & Botanical History
No data.
History at Camden Park
The identity of this plant is unclear. Macarthur wrote to Loddiges’ nursery on 16th April 1846 (the text is difficult to read): ‘I send you some plants of Dendrobium ruscifolium and of […] I have had them 7 or 8 months […] now showing a number of flower stems. I hope it may flower well, as about the time they will reach England […] I consider it to be the most beautiful of the New Holland Orchidaceae.’ [MP A2933-1, p.147]. The specific name ruscifolium refers to the genus Ruscus in which the small true leaves are replaced by flattened, leaf-like shoots called cladophylls and is presumably a reference to the foliage of the orchid.
Notes
Dendrobium ruscifolium Sw. (1799) = Pleurothallis ruscifolia (Jacq.) R.Br., synonym Epidendrum ruscifolium Jacq. It is the type species of the genus Pleurothallis from tropical America, first described as an Epidendrum and clearly not Macarthur’s plant.
Published Jan 25, 2010 - 04:59 PM | Last updated Jul 28, 2010 - 03:55 PM
| Family | Orchidaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | Australia, probably eastern Australia |
| Synonyms | |
| Common Name | |
| Name in the Camden Park Record |
Dendrobium ruscifolium |
| Confidence level | low |