Species · genus Dendrobium · Orchidaceae

Hooded Orchid

Dendrobium aphyllum (Roxb.) C.E.C.Fisch.

Also known as: Leafless Dendrobium

Growth habit

pseudobulbous epiphyte or lithophyte

Native range

Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam

Reference · D. aphyllum

Cultivars of D. aphyllum

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under D. aphyllum yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Dendrobium aphyllum is a pseudobulbous epiphyte from monsoonal forests across South and Southeast Asia, growing on tree bark and rock where roots drain fast and dry between rains. Grow it in an open, fast-draining bark mix or mount with good airflow, and water when the roots and medium have approached dryness, roughly every 4 to 9 days depending on warmth and light. It stores moisture in its canes, so it tolerates brief dryness far better than sitting wet, which rots the roots.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 4-9d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 9 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

15–30 °C

Soil mix

Bark mix or slab mount, fast-draining

Propagation

Keikis along the canes, or division

Fertilizing

Dilute orchid feed while growing, stop in winter

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Blooms on leafless canes after a dry winter rest

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 4-9d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Hooded Orchid yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.