Noble Dendrobium

Dendrobium nobile, the noble dendrobium, is a member of the orchid family and one of the most widespread ornamental orchids. It is the state flower of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is a sympodial orchid that forms pseudobulbs; when one stem stops growing, new shoots rise from the base and build a clump of stems. The erect inflorescence carries short racemes of two to four fragrant, waxy flowers, white to pink and purple, mostly in winter and spring, and the strap-shaped leaves persist. It grows on trees or on mossy limestone rocks in lowland and mountain forests across southern China, the Himalayas and Indochina, and is reported to have naturalised in Hawaii. An extract of the stems yielded 17 phenanthrenes. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called shí hú.