Dendrobium nobile Lindl.
Frost-tender, semi-evergreen epiphytic orchid with cylindrical pseudobulbs and lance-shaped leaves, to 12cm long, and usually pairs of flowers varying in colour from largely white, to pinkish purple, with a maroon mark on each lip, in spring. There are many named colour forms. [RHSE, Pridgeon, Hortus, Jennings].
Horticultural & Botanical History
‘A handsome plant in bloom of this fine orchid is at all times a desirable object to those who are fond of flowers, but much more so when it is made to produce its hundreds of blossoms at the time of year [winter] when it has few rivals.’ [Gard. Chron. 1850]. A variable plant it is the parent of many garden hybrids. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine figures the variety pallidiflorum. [BM t.5003/1857]. ‘Perhaps of all the species of Dendrobium yet cultivated in Britain, none is capable of outvying the present plant.’ And later: ‘The chief merit of the species consists in its producing blossoms during the winter months, when every flower is so desirable.’ Introduced to Britain c.1836 by Loddiges’ nursery. [MB p.7/1840, MB p.45/1844].
History at Camden Park
Listed in the 1850 and 1857 catalogues [O.21/1850]. Requested from Loddiges’ Nursery on 1st February, 1849 [MP A2933-1, p.185] and obtained from them, brought out from England by Captain P. P. King in that year. [ML A1980-3].
Notes
Published Jan 25, 2010 - 04:44 PM | Last updated Jan 25, 2010 - 04:50 PM
Dendrobium nobile Lindl. | BM t.5003/1857 var. pallidiflorum | BHL
| Family | Orchidaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | Himalayas to Taiwan |
| Synonyms | |
| Common Name | |
| Name in the Camden Park Record |
Dendrobium nobile |
| Confidence level | high |