Dendrobium malbrownii

Dendrobium malbrownii, commonly known as the McIlwraith hermit orchid,^[2] is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to tropical North Queensland, Australia. It has thin, wiry, crowded stems each with narrow, dark green leaves and a single shiny, cream-coloured flower with a purple labellum. It grows on trees, fallen logs and rocks in rainforest on the McIlwraith Range.

McIlwraith hermit orchid
Illustration by Lewis Roberts
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Genus:	Dendrobium
Species:	D. malbrownii
Binomial name
Dendrobium malbrownii Dockrill[1]
Synonyms[1]
Monanthos malbrownii (Dockrill) Rauschert

Description

Dendrobium malbrownii is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with crowded, wiry stems 100–300 mm (4–10 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The leaves are linear, 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) long, about 4 mm (0.16 in) wide and arranged in two rows along the stems. Each stem has a single cream-coloured flower 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long and 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide. The dorsal sepal is about 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long and 2 mm (0.079 in) wide, the lateral sepals are a similar length but twice as wide and the petals a similar length but only about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The labellum is purple and yellow, about 4 mm (0.16 in) long and 2.5 mm (0.098 in) wide with small, rounded side lobes and a middle lobe with two faint ridges. Flowering occurs between December and April.^[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Dendrobium malbrownii was first formally described in 1967 by Alick Dockrill in Australian Plants.^[4] The specific epithet (malbrownii) honours Malcolm Brown, the collector of the type specimen.^[4][5]

Distribution and habitat

The McIlwraith hermit orchid grows on small rocks, logs and trees in rainforest in the McIlwraith Range in tropical North Queensland.^[2][3]