Dockrillia teretifolia (R.Br.) Brieger

Rat's Tail Orchid

Large epiphyte or epilith with arching or pendent stems. Leaves terete, to 60 cm long, to 5 mm wide, fleshy, smooth. Flowers 4-15, to 4 cm long, spidery, white to yellowish with red or purplish striations; winter to spring. Sepals and petals narrow and pointed. Labellum distinctly 3-lobed, white to yellowish with purple markings. Syn. Dendrobium teretifolium R. Br.

NSW.

D. calamiformis (Lodd.) M.A. Clem. & D.L. Jones from Qld and the Torres Strait Islands is a large epiphyte with long, drooping, terete leaves and inflorescences of 1-15 spidery flowers that are mostly white or cream, sometimes with reddish or purplish stripes. Syn. Dendrobium calamiforme Lodd., Dendrobium teretifolium R. Br. var. fasciculatum Rupp.

D. mortii (F. Muell.) Rauschert from Qld & NSW is a small to medium sized epiphyte with short, drooping, terete leaves and inflorescences of 1-3 smallish flowers that are mostly green to purplish with a predominantly white labellum. Syn. Dendrobium mortii F. Muell.

D. bowmanii (Benth.) M.A. Clem. & D.L. Jones from New Caledonia, Qld & NSW is a medium sized epiphyte with short, drooping, terete leaves and inflorescences of 1-4 smallish flowers that are mostly cream, green or brownish with reddish stripes and a white labellum. Syn. Dendrobium bowmanii Benth.

Source: Jeanes, J. (2005). Orchidaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

Distribution map