Dendrobium kingianum Bidwill ex Lindley 1844 SECTION Dendrocoryne
Photo by Wilford Neptune.
Photo by Eric Hunt.
Photo by Jay Pfahl
to 
LATE
and EARLY
Common Name Pink Rock Lily and Capt. King's Dendrobium [Governor - New South Wales 1800's] The Pink Rock Orchid
Flower Size 1" [2 to 3 cm]
This is a small to large sized, cool to warm growing lithophytic orchid from Queensland and New South Wales Australia at elevations of 50 to 1200 meters where it is found both on the coast and in the mountains growing lithophytically on rocks and cliff faces forming dense mats, with swollen basally and then fusiform, sulcate, dark colored stems carrying 2 to 7 , near the apex, ovate, thin textured leaves and blooms in the late winter and early spring on an axillary, erect to arcuate, medium length to 16" [to 40 cm], few to 20 flowered, fragrant floral, hyacinth, lilac to honey scented raceme that arises from the leaf axils at the apex of the canes both new and old.
Water should be greatly reduced and fertilizer eliminated from mid fall until new growth appears in the spring.
The flowers of the species are quite color variable and have a full range of colors between red, purple, white striped and purplish blue.
Synonyms Callista kingiana (Bidwill ex Lindl.) Kuntze 1891; Dendrobium kingianum subsp. carnarvonense Peter B.Adams in P.B.Adams & S.D.Lawson 1995; Dendrobium kingianum subvar. pallidum A.H.Kent 1888; Dendrobium kingianum var. album B.S.Williams 1888; Dendrobium kingianum var. aldersonae F.M.Bailey 1905; Dendrobium kingianum var. pallidum F.M.Bailey 1885; Dendrobium kingianum var. pulcherrimum Rupp 1943 publ. 1944; Dendrobium kingianum var. silcockii F.M.Bailey 1902; Dendrocoryne kingianum (Bidwill ex Lindl.) Brieger 1981; Thelychiton carnarvonensis (Peter B.Adams) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2002; Thelychiton kingianus (Bidwill ex Lindl.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2002; Thelychiton pulcherrimus (Rupp) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2002; Tropilis kingiana (Bidwill ex Lindl.) Butzin 1982
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Orchidaceae Monandre-Dendrobiinae Fr. Kraenzlin 1910; Orchidaceae Monandre-Dendrobiinae Fr. Kraenzlin 1910 as D kingianum var aldersonae; Orchidaceae Monandre-Dendrobiinae Fr. Kraenzlin 1910 as D kingianum var pallidum; Orchidaceae Monandre-Dendrobiinae Fr. Kraenzlin 1910 as D kingianum var subquadratum; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 photo good; Die Orchideen 2 Auflage Schlechter 1927 photo good; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 2 1958; AOS Bulletin Vol 28 No 9 1959 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 32 No 8 1963 as D kingianum var album photo fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; AOS Bulletin Vol 28 No 9 1966 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 35 No 4 1966; AOS Bulletin Vol 36 #8 1967 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 37 No 9 1968 photo ok; Orchids of Australia Nicholls 1969 drawing fide; The Orchids of New South Wales Rupp 1969 drawing fide; The Orchids of New South Wales Rupp 1969 as D kingianum var pulcherrimum; Die Orchideen lieferung 11/12 633 - 752 Brieger 1981 as Dendrocoryne kingianum photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 55 No 12 1986 photo fide; Dendrobium Orchids of Australia Upton 1989 drawing/photo fide; A Guide to Orchids of the World Hodgson, Paine & Anderson 1991 Photo fide; A Guide to Orchids of the World Hodgson, Paine & Anderson 1991 as D kingianum var silcockiiPhoto good; Miniature Orchids McQueens 1992 photo fide; Miniature Orchids McQueens 1992 D kingianum var album photo fide; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Laurent 1992 photo fide; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 62 No 2 1993 photo fide; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchid Species Culture; Dendrobium Bakers 1996; AOS Bulletin Vol 66 No 10 1997 photo fide; Orchids Australia Vol 10 No 5 1998 photo; Orchid Australia Vol 11 No 6 1999 photo; Australian Orchid Review Vol 65 No 4 2000 photo; Dendrobium and its Relatives Lavarack, Harris and Stocker 2000 photo fide; Orchids of Australia Riley & Banks 2002 drawing fide; Botanica's Orchids 2002 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 69 No 1 2004 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 6 2004 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 70 No 2 2005; Australian Orchid Review Vol 70 No 3 2005; AOS Bulletin Vol 74 No 5 2005; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005 photos fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 75 No 2 2006 photo fide; The Dendrobiums H. P. Wood 2006 photo fide; Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 as Thelychiton kingianus photo fide; Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 as Thelychiton carnarvonensis photo fide; Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 as Thelychiton pulcherrimus photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 1 2007 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 9 2007 photo fide; Miniature Orchids Frownie 2007 photo fide; AOS Bulletin vol 78 No 11 2009 photo fide; Mille Et Une miniOrchidees Roguenant 2009 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 74 #4 2010 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 79 #3 2010 photo fide; Le Petit Larousse des Orchidees Lecoufle, Barthelemy & Schmidt 2013 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 80 #2 2016;
Orchid Digest Vol 82 #3 2018 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 83 #1 2019 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #6 2019 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #8 2019 photo fide;
Dendrobium kingianum var album Bidwill ex Lindley 1844
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
AOS Bulletin Vol 28 No 9 1959 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 32 No 8 1963 photo fide; The Dendrobiums H. P. Wood 2006 photo fide; Miniature Orchids Frownie 2007 photo fide
Dendrobium kingianum 'Speckles' HCC-AD/ANOS Bidwill ex Lindley 1844
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