Ricardo Boricua
Well-Known Member
I brought this orchid decades ago, from a vendor in New York that said it was a yellow form of anosmum. It didn't turn out to be yellow, but it is something of a mystery. I have not been able to find any reference to this variety on the literature on Dendrobium anosmum. Searching the web turns up three photos on Flickr, but no information as to where it is from or who named it. The plant form looks quite unlike any other anosmum, it looks like a small Dendrobium aphyllum. In fact the only plant that survived hurricanes Irma and Maria was in a basket with Dendrobium Bohemian Rhapsody and looked almost identical to them, its identity was not revealed until it bloomed. The lip is unique among the anosmum varieties I have, tightly rolled and very hairy. The only reference to a plant with these traits I have found is in Wood's The Dendrobium book, which mention in passing that variety velutina, has a hairy lip, but gives no source to the name. If anyone knows any scientific reference to this plant please tell me.
