Your Dendrobium
could be in the section
Phalaenanthe:
Dendrobiums in section
Phalaenanthe are commonly known as Dendrobium phalaenopsis types of Dendrobiums. An example of a Dendrobium in this section would be
Dendrobium bigibbum, (
IOSPE PHOTOS).
Note: As far as I know the etymology of the name "
Phalaenanthe" would be similar to that of
Phalaenopsis. Both names have the same root - "
Phalaena-", which is referring to moths in old Linnaean, (referring to the taxonomist Carl Linnaeus), taxonomy. The "-
anthe" portion of the name is derived from the Greek word "anthos", which means flower. Essentially, the section name "
Phalaenanthe" means "moth flower".
Or, your Dendrobium
could be in the section
Spatulata:
Dendrobiums in section
Spatulata are commonly known as "Antelope Dendrobiums" because many species frequently display the floral trait of having long and twisty petals, superficially resembling the horns of the Antelope species
Antilope cervicapra - the Blackbuck Antelope, (
Antelope Black Buck Wallpaper Backgrounds). An example of a Dendrobium in this section would be
Dendrobium strebloceras, (
IOSPE PHOTOS).
Btw. If you're wondering what "
Spatulata" means, this name should look very familiar to you in plain English - even more so when I re-type it as "spatula". I'm unsure what the "spatula" description is referring to, but I'm assuming it's because the petals are rounded at the ends on some of the species. Either that or it could be a reference to the shape of the labellum, (aka lip), looking like a spatula, idk.
However, your Dendrobium
is definitely not in the following sections of Dendrobium:
Dendrobiums in section
Densiflora/
Callista I have a difficult time explaining. The section is called "
Densiflora" for a reason. Species in this section frequently display the trait of having pendulous "spikes" that are densely, (get it - densely, "
Densi-" -
), populated by several flowers (flower = "-
flora"
). One example would be the species
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, (
IOSPE PHOTOS). I'm honestly not really sure what the origin(s) of the section name "
Callista" is/are. The only thing I know of is that "
Callista" translates into "most beautiful" in Old Greek; and if you've ever seen the flowers to the Dendrobiums in this section, they certainly are "most beautiful". I'm also unsure whether the section name "
Densiflora" is the new taxonomically accepted section name, or if the section name "
Callista" is still applicable to certain species.
Dendrobiums in the section
Latouria typically originate from Papua New Guinea, (abbreviated PNG). Unfortunately, I don't really know why they are called "
Latouria", (I suspect it is in honor of a person - maybe some person with the last name Latour). They have strange looking flowers that look very alien like. An example of a Dendrobium from section
Latouria would be the species
Dendrobium alexandrae, (
IOSPE PHOTOS).
Dendrobiums in the section
Formosae are more difficult to pinpoint a common name to. The section name "
Formosae" should look familiar to you if you know some basic geography - the hint being that the name is the former name of a country we now know as Taiwan (aka Formosa). The example for this section would be
Dendrobium suzukii, (
IOSPE PHOTOS). I don't know the exact origin story as to why these Dendrobiums go by the section name "
Formosae", 'cause some species don't even come from Taiwan, (the country formerly known as Formosa).
What?!?!?!? I can't comprehend all of that. But okay I will try to understand it even more.
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