The Makiling Botanic Gardens (MBG) Plant of the Month (POM) for August 2023 is Toothbrush Orchid, scientifically known as Dendrobium secundum Lindl. from the family Orchidaceae. The name “toothbrush orchid” was derived from the fact that all of its flowers appear on the same side of the stem, much like the bristles of a toothbrush! The plant is native to the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Sulawesi.
This species of orchid is often found in dry lowland forests and savanna woodlands. It enjoys high temperatures, humidity, and light levels that when the temperature is slightly cooled, flowers are stimulated. It is a terrestrial epiphytic flowering plant that also thrives wildly in tropical areas with stems that are upright, cane-like, and semi-pendulous or tapering as it ages. Its flowers are waxy and are borne on an inflorescence that grows at the tip part of a leafless stem and is arranged facing one direction. They are usually pink or purple in color and fragrant.
To know more about this plant, please watch this video: https://youtu.be/TE5xaNK5oTM
By: AALimpiada and ACMalayba