Dendrobium wardianum - Pink-Tip Dendrobium

Pink-Tip Dendrobium is a medium to large sized, tree-dwelling or rock-dwelling orchid with erect to drooping, round, nodally thickened, up to 60 cm long stems carrying deciduous, oblong-lanceshaped, pointed leaves. It is named for F. Kingdon-Ward, 20th century English botanist in Asia. The plant blooms in the winter with 1-3 fragrant caramel scented, longlasting flowers on very short racemes that arise all along last years leafless canes. Flowers are up to 10 cm across, spreading, papery; sepals and petals white with pale purple tips, lip with many purplish red stripes on each side, disk with a pale yellow transverse semilunar central blotch, column white, front side with purple stripes, anther cap white. Dorsal sepal is ovate-lanceshaped, 23-25 x 7-8(or more) mm, 7-veined, tip pointed or slightly blunt; lateral sepals nearly round, equal in size, 7-veined, base oblique, tip pointed. Petals are obliquely ovate, 2.3-2.5 x 1.3-1.4 cm. Lip is nearly broadly obovate, about 2.3 x 2 cm, above densely barbellate, base wedge-shaped, margin fringed with hairs, tip rounded. Pink-Tip Dendrobium is found in Bhutan, NE India, Myanmar, N Thailand, N Vietnam, China, at altitudes of 800-1900 m.