Dendrobium salaccense (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Dendrobium salaccense (Blume) Lindley
- Family: Orchidaceae
Synonyms
- Grastidium salaccense Blume,
- Dendrobium intermedium Teijsm. & Binnend.,
- D. gemellum Ridley.
Vernacular names
- Indonesia: sakat harum (Sumatra), kapias (Batak Kara), lanali (Minangkabau).
Distribution
Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
Uses
The leaves have a strong liquorice-like odour, especially during drying or steaming. In Sumatra they are packed in banana leaves and steamed together with rice, to make the rice more fragrant. Women also wear the leaves in their hair.
Observations
- Epiphytic herb, about 70 cm tall, with thin stem (about 3 mm in diameter).
- Leaves linear, 12 cm × 1 cm, obtuse, thin.
- Inflorescence a very short 2-flowered raceme; flowers whitish, about 13 mm wide, sepals 6 mm long, petals oblong, labellum oblong, slightly constricted halfway up, with a longitudinal rib on inner side.
D. salaccense grows in mixed and teak forest, up to 1800 m, but usually below 1200 m altitude. A much larger form has been named var. major J.J. Smith (stem 1-3 m long, 6.5 mm in diameter; leaves 2.7 cm wide, flowers 18 mm wide, yellowish).
Selected sources
- Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol.1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol.2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
- Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd edition. 3 volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch Indië. 1953 pp. (3rd edition, 1950. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage/Bandung, the Netherlands/Indonesia. 1660 pp.).
- Smith, J.J., 1905. Die Orchideen von Java [The orchids of Java]. Flora von Buitenzorg, vol. 6. E.J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands. 672 pp.
Authors
P.C.M. Jansen