Dendrobium smillieae
The bottlebrush orchid is a lowland tropical epiphyte from north-eastern Queensland, New Guinea and nearby islands. It grows on sun-exposed, loose-barked trees at the edges of rainforest and in woodland, and its tall cane-like pseudobulbs flower from leafless nodes in dense, bottlebrush-like clusters. Grow it hot and bright, water heavily in summer and give it a drier winter, as the monsoon climate does.
Where it grows wild
An epiphyte, occasionally a lithophyte, on trees in woodland, open forest and rainforest margins. It prefers trees in the sun with loose, flaky bark, especially swamp box (Lophostemon suaveolens), where its roots run under the bark and form thick mats.
A lowland species: GBIF records run from 5 to 560 m, with a median of 90 m.
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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.