White butterfly orchid facts for kids

The white butterfly orchid (also known as Dendrobium affine) is a beautiful plant. People in Australia sometimes call it malakmalak or matngala. This orchid is special because it's an epiphyte, which means it grows on other plants, like trees, instead of in the soil. It has long, round stems called pseudobulbs, with leaves and lovely white flowers. These flowers often have yellow or purple marks on their special lip-shaped petal. You can find this orchid growing in northern Australia, New Guinea, and Timor.

What the White Butterfly Orchid Looks Like

The white butterfly orchid is a type of herb that grows on trees. It has green, cylinder-shaped stems called pseudobulbs. These pseudobulbs can be from 200 to 700 millimeters (about 8 to 27 inches) long and 15 to 25 millimeters (about 0.6 to 1 inch) wide. Each pseudobulb usually has two to ten leaves on its upper part. The leaves are quite long, about 80 to 200 millimeters (3 to 8 inches), and 20 to 30 millimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) wide.

Flowers of the White Butterfly Orchid

The orchid's flowering stem can grow 200 to 500 millimeters (about 8 to 20 inches) long. On each stem, you might see between two and twenty white flowers. Each flower is about 20 to 30 millimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) long and 25 to 45 millimeters (1 to 1.8 inches) wide.

The flower has parts called sepals and petals. The sepals are about 16 to 20 millimeters long. The petals are about the same length but a bit wider. The most interesting part is the labellum, which is like a special lip. It's usually yellow with purple markings, about 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) long. This labellum has three parts, or lobes. The two side lobes stand upright, and the middle lobe often curves downwards. It also has five small ridges down its middle. These orchids usually bloom from March to August.

Naming the White Butterfly Orchid

The white butterfly orchid was first officially described in 1834 by a scientist named Joseph Decaisne. He gave it the name Onychium affine. Later, in 1840, another scientist, Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel, changed its name to Dendrobium affine. The second part of its scientific name, affine, is a Latin word that means "related to" or "neighboring."

Where the White Butterfly Orchid Lives

The Dendrobium affine orchid is a bark epiphyte. This means it likes to grow on the bark of trees, especially in places that are moist. You can often find it in rainforests, along stream banks, and in paperbark swamps.

It grows in the northern parts of the Northern Territory in Australia, including Melville Island. It's also found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Moluccas. It used to grow on Timor, but it might not be there anymore.