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Species library › Dendrobium › Dendrobium racemosum
Orchids Partly documented

Dendrobium racemosum

erect pencil orchid

The erect pencil orchid (syn. Dockrillia racemosa) is endemic to the Wet Tropics of north Queensland. It has stiff, few-branched yellowish stems up to a metre long with terete dark green leaves 8–20 cm long, and in September–October it carries racemes of 8–15 cream to pale yellow flowers. It grows in exposed spots high in rainforest trees and on rocks, so it wants more light than most pencil orchids.

At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets 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 trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Epiphytic or lithophytic in exposed positions. Wikipedia (after Jones 2006) records it in the tops of rainforest trees on the Atherton and Evelyn Tablelands and between the Russell and Johnstone Rivers.

Wikipedia gives mainly 800–1,500 m, with some populations lower. The seven GBIF records with an elevation span 550–1000 m, median 720 m.

Queensland

🔒 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

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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.