Dendrobium linguiforme

Tongue orchid

A small creeping orchid from eastern Australia with thick, tongue-shaped, ridged leaves on wiry rhizomes that cling tightly to rock and bark. It grows mostly in sclerophyll forest and on exposed sandstone and flowers in September and October with sprays of up to twenty feathery white flowers. It is sometimes placed in Dockrillia, but Australian herbaria keep it in Dendrobium.

Dendrobium linguiforme — Photo: Poyt448 Peter Woodard, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows on rocks and trees, usually in sclerophyll forest and sometimes in rainforest or on exposed rocky sites. Around Sydney it is common on sandstone boulders and cliff faces, where it forms dense mats of overlapping leaves.

Coastal lowlands to the tablelands; GBIF records carry too few elevations to summarise.

New South Wales (coast and tablelands north of Ulladulla)Queensland (to the Atherton Tableland)New Caledonia

🔒 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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More Dendrobium

Dendrobium bigibbum Dendrobium nobile Dendrobium phalaenopsis Dendrobium kingianum Dendrobium canaliculatum Dendrobium moniliforme Dendrobium bracteosum Dendrobium unicum Dendrobium regium Dendrobium taurinum Dendrobium speciosum Dendrobium tetragonum All 1696 →

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 CC0 licence, unmodified.