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Species library › Dendrobium › Dendrobium macrostachyum
Orchids Partly documented

Dendrobium macrostachyum

Fringed tree orchid

The fringed tree orchid is a lowland rainforest epiphyte found from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia and Malesia to Cape York in Queensland. Its thin, wiry, slightly zig-zag canes are 10–60 cm long. It drops its leaves about a year after a cane matures and then carries up to three whitish to lime-green flowers with a hairy, ridged lip. Grow it warm and humid, with a lighter watering regime in the cooler, drier months when the canes are leafless.

At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows on trees in lowland rainforest. Across much of its range, including southern India, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast Asia and Cape York, the climate is monsoonal with a distinct drier season.

The eight records with an elevation span 5–460 m, median 80 m, which fits a strictly lowland species.

India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the West HimalayaAndaman and Nicobar Islands, MaldivesMyanmar, Thailand, Laos, VietnamMalaya, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda IslandsQueensland (Cape York to the McIlwraith Range)

🔒 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.