Common pencil orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Common pencil orchid |
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| Dendrobium schoeninum in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne | |
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Dendrobium
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| Species: |
schoeninum
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The Dendrobium schoeninum, often called the common pencil orchid, is a type of orchid. It usually grows on other plants, like trees, or sometimes on rocks. This orchid has thin, wiry stems that can stand up or hang down. Its leaves are thick, dark green, and have grooves.
When it blooms, this orchid has short stems with one or two flowers, sometimes up to four. These flowers can be pale green, cream, or light purple. They often have cool purple markings on their special lip-like part, called the labellum. You can find the common pencil orchid growing on the edges of rainforests in coastal New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia.
What it Looks Like
The common pencil orchid is a plant that grows on other plants (this is called an epiphyte) or sometimes on rocks (a lithophyte). It has thin stems that can be from 300 mm (10 in) to 900 mm (40 in) long. These stems are about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide and have many branches.
Its leaves are shaped like cylinders, are thick, dark green, and have grooves. They are usually 60 mm (2 in) to 160 mm (6 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) to 12 mm (0.5 in) wide.
The flowering stems are short, only 10 mm (0.4 in) to 30 mm (1 in) long. Each stem usually has one or two flowers, but sometimes up to four. The flowers can be pale green, cream-coloured, or light purple, and they have purple stripes.
The outer parts of the flower, called sepals, are 18 mm (0.71 in) to 24 mm (0.94 in) long. The inner parts, called petals, are similar in length but thinner. The labellum (the orchid's "lip") is cream to pale green with purple marks. It is about 20 mm (0.8 in) to 30 mm (1 in) long. The labellum has three parts, or lobes. The two side lobes stand up, and the middle lobe points down. It also has wavy edges and three wavy lines down its middle. This orchid usually flowers from August to November.
How it Got its Name
The common pencil orchid was first officially described in 1870 by a scientist named John Lindley. He published its description in a newspaper called The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette.
The second part of its scientific name, schoeninum, comes from a Latin word, schoenus. This word means "sedge", which is a type of grass-like plant.
Where it Lives
The common pencil orchid grows on the edges of rainforests. You can often find it near creeks or on the branches of trees like river oak (Casuarina cunninghamiana) or swamp she-oak (C. glauca). Sometimes, it also grows on shady rocks and cliff faces.
It lives in areas close to the coast, stretching from Gladstone in Queensland down to the Hunter River in New South Wales.
