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Species library › Dendrobium › Dendrobium chameleon
Orchids Well documented

Dendrobium chameleon

Chameleon dendrobium

Dendrobium chameleon is an epiphytic orchid of Taiwan and the Philippines. Its flowers are 2.5 to 3.75 cm across and vary in colour, which gives it its name. In Taiwan it grows on tree trunks in humid broadleaf forest at about 550 to 1,100 m, in places such as Fushan, Wulai, Pinglin and Yilan, where there is no marked dry season. It suits intermediate growers with moderate light, steady humidity and a cooler winter.

Dendrobium chameleon
Photo: snotch from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Taiwanese herbarium labels record it as epiphytic on tree trunks in moist broadleaf forest. Most localities are in the wet north-east (New Taipei, Yilan, Fushan) and the south-east (Taitung, Taimali), and iNaturalist observations there are frequent. Philippine plants were described by Ames in 1908, but their habitat details were not found.

Taiwanese specimens with elevations are from 550 to 1,125 m, mostly 550 to 850 m. Philippine elevations were not checked.

TaiwanPhilippines

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.