''Dendrobium discolor'', commonly known as antler orchid or golden orchid, is a species of

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Orchidaceae, and are native to northern Australia,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, and part of Indonesia. It has cylindrical

pseudobulb The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic a ...

s, each with between ten and thirty five leathery leaves, and flowering stems with up to forty mostly brownish or greenish flowers with wavy and twisted

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

Description

''Dendrobium discolor'' is an

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

with cylindrical green or yellowish

pseudobulbs The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and h ...

long, wide and occasionally over thick. There are between ten and thirty five leathery leaves long and wide. The flowering stem is long and bears between eight and forty light brown, reddish brown, dark brown or yellowish flowers. The flowers are long and wide with wavy and twisted

s and petals. The sepals are long, and wide and the

s are long and wide. The labellum has mauve to purple markings and is long and wide with three main lobes. The side lobes are large and spread outwards or curve upwards and the middle lobe curves downwards and has at least three ridges and wavy edges. Flowering occurs from April to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Dendrobium discolor'' was first formally described in 1841 by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

and the description was published in ''

Edwards's Botanical Register ''The Botanical Register'', subsequently known as ''Edwards's Botanical Register'', was an illustrated horticultural magazine that ran from 1815 to 1847. It was started by the botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards, who had previously illustrat ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''discolor'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word meaning "of different colours" or "variegated".

Infraspecifics

The following infraspecifics are accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants ...

as of March 2023: * ''Dendrobium discolor'' var. ''broomfieldii'' (

Fitzg. Robert David FitzGerald (or possibly Robert Desmond FitzGerald) (30 November 1830 – 12 August 1892) was an Irish-Australian surveyor, ornithologist, botanist and poet. Whilst working as a public servant FitzGerald's private passion and ability ...

)

A.D.Hawkes Alex Drum Hawkes (1927–1977) was an American botanist and cookbook author who lived in Coconut Grove, Florida & Kingston, Jamaica. Alex specialized in orchids, bromeliads, palm trees, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Named the orchid genera ...

– or canary orchid has greenish yellow to bright golden yellow flowers from April to December, and occurs on the

Whitsunday Islands The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are of ...

. * ''Dendrobium discolor'' Lindl. subsp. ''discolor'' – or golden antler orchid has light brown to dark brown, sometimes yellow to yellowish brown flowers with mauve to purple markings on the labellum, between August and November and occurs in Queensland, from the some

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of ...

. * ''Dendrobium discolor'' var. ''fimbrilabium'' (

Rchb.f. Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Icones Florae Germanicae et Helv ...

) Dockrill occurs in parts of Indonesia, New Guinea and Queensland. * ''Dendrobium discolor'' var. ''fuscum'' (Fitzg.) Dockrill – or brown antler orchid has relatively small, reddish brown to dark brown flowers with mauve to purple markings on the labellum from April to December and occurs in Queensland, from the some

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

. * ''Dendrobium discolor'' subsp. ''incurvata''.

Liddle Liddle is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew R. Liddle (born 1965), professor of astrophysics at the University of Sussex in Brighton * Ben Liddle (born 1998), English footballer * Bobby Liddle (1908–1972), English foo ...

P.I.Forst. Paul Irwin Forster (born 1961) is an Australian botanist. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Queensland in 2004 with his thesis ''The pursuit of plants : studies on the systematics, ecology and chemistry of the vascular flora of A ...

occurs in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and Queensland.

Distribution and habitat

Antler orchid grows in coastal scrub and on mangroves, in coastal rainforest, and woodland, sometimes on rocks. It occurs in Queensland, including on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef,

as well as in the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

and Sulawesi in Indonesia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5256692 discolor Orchids of Indonesia Orchids of New Guinea Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1841