Dendrobium denudans - Bare Dendrobium

Bare Dendrobium is a hanging, 14-30 cm long orchid with slender roots, dwelling on trees. Stems are nearly erect, round, covered by leaf sheaths. Leaves are oblong to linear-oblong, pointed, obliquely notched, stalkless, jointed, 3.5-7.5 x 0.3-1.5 cm. Flowers are borne in 10- to many-flowered clusters, leaf-opposed. Flower-cluster-stalk is slender, sheathed, hairless, 2-4.5cm long; sheaths linear-lanceshaped, pointed, membranous, 5-6 x 0.5-1 mm; axis hairless, 3-10cm long; floral bracts lanceshaped, pointed, membranous, 3-4 * 0.5-1mm. Flowers are crescent-shaped in bud, 1-2 cm across; sepals and petals pale green to white, lip with radiating red-purple lines, mentum purple, column foot red; flower-stalk and ovary slender, hairless, 6-8 mm long. Sepals are similar; dorsal sepal linear-lanceshaped, 1.2-2 x 0.12-0.15 cm; lateral sepals lanceshaped-triangular, tapering, sickle shaped, 5-veined, 1.2-2.1 x 0.2-0.4 cm (at base); mentum broadly conical, 2-3mm long. Petals are linear-lanceshaped, pointed to tapering, 3-veined, 0.8-1.3 x 0.1-0.12 cm. Lip 3-lobed, decurved at base, 5-7 x 3.5-4 mm (when spread); lateral lobes long, narrow, margins sawtoothed-lacerate; mid-lobe recurved, obdeltoid to obovate, margins sawtoothed-crisped, 1.5-2mm long; disc with an obscurely 3-ridged from base to centre of mid-lobe. Column is 3 mm long; foot angled to column, curved, bristly, 6 mm long; anther cap margins finely toothed. Bare Dendrobium is found in the Himalaya, from Garhwal to Sikkim, at altitudes of 1500-2100 m.