Dendrobium taprobanium Priyadarshana, Atthanagoda, Harshajith, Wijewardhane, Aberathna, Peabotuwage & Kumar 2020 SECTION Distichophyllae

Plant and flowers Photos by Imaduwa Priyadarshana

MID

Common Name The Tabprobane Dendrobium [‘Taprobane’, the historical name for Sri Lanka given by the ancient Greeks]

Flower Size .5" [1.3 cm]

Found in Sri Lanka in the Makandawa Forest Reserve, in lowland-wet zone forests on lichen and moss covered tree trunks or wet rocks and boulders, under shade at elevations around 185 meters as a miniature sized, hot growing epiphyte or lithophyte with close set, ovoid with tapering ends pseudobulbs enveloped at the nodes by sheathing leaf bases with the apical ones carrying 3 to 4, linear-oblong or lanceolate, 1 to 2.2" [2.5 to 5.5 cm] long, .6 to .96" [1.5 to 1.9 cm] wide, distichous, sessile, slightly twisted at the base then spreading into thin sheath covering the stem internode, acute to acuminate, conduplicate leaves that blooms in the winter and spring on pendulous, lateral or terminal, .6" [1.5 cm] long, green, bearing 2 to 4 flowers. with minute, ovate, obtuse floral bracts.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Phytotaxa 432 (1): 081–094 PRIYADARSHANA, ATTHANAGODA; HARSHAJITH, WIJEWARDHANE, ABERATHNA, PEABOTUWAGE & KUMAR 2020 Photo/drawing fide;

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