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Old 01-12-2006, 05:25 PM
Weng Weng is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jun 2005
Location: England
Posts: 38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Weaver
Are there any substantial differences between the species Dendrobium
densiflorum and Den. griffithianum? I've seen a few places on line
where both species names were used as synonyms for each other. There
are also places on line that refer to them as Callista densiflorum and
Cal. griffithianum instead of Dendrobium. I'd like to acquire a nice,
yellow/orange flowered member of the family that Dendrobium chrysotoxum
is a member of (I already have a chrysotoxum that I'm very fond of and
am trying to expand my collection a little with a similar plant or
two), but it's a bit confusing to differentiate these two species
(densiflorum and griffithianum) based on what I've found on the
Internet so far. If they are one and the same, I guess that would make
life easier. But if they are, in fact, different species, any help
clarifying the differences between the two (plant size, scent or no
scent, cultural requirements, etc.) would be helpful. Thank you!
You are right in suspecting that D. densiflorum and D. griffithianum are synonymous.

The Genus Dendrobium is divided into sections, and both D. chrysotoxum and D. densiflorum belong in Section Callista, so that explains the references you've seen. However, Callista does not form part of the name.

D. densiflorum is a very rewarding plant to grow. It requires cooler conditions than D. chrysotoxum and a cool, dry rest is required in Winter for flowering. I find that D. chrysotoxum will flower without a distinct rest, but D. densiflorum won't.

Weng