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Dendrobium nobile Lindl.

Noble dendrobium

Native records: 13 botanical areas

Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, 10 more areas

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Natural distribution

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NativeIntroducedUncertain

Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.

Last updated:

Distribution last verified:

See sources

Photograph of Dendrobium nobile

An epiphytic orchid native to the Himalayas, southern China and Indochina, and one of the most popular cultivated dendrobiums for the white-and-purple, often fragrant flowers it bears along its canes in winter and spring.

Description

An evergreen to semi-deciduous epiphyte that forms clumps of fleshy, cane-like pseudobulbs up to several tens of centimetres long, bearing two ranks of lance-shaped leaves at the nodes. After a rest period the previous year's canes flower from their nodes, each producing one to three fragrant blooms — white tipped with rosy purple and marked with a dark blotch at the base of the lip. It is a foundational parent of countless hybrids known collectively as the 'nobile-type' dendrobiums, and in China its canes are used medicinally under the name shí hú (石斛).

Habitat

Grows as an epiphyte in humid montane forest from the Himalayan foothills through southern China and mainland Southeast Asia, at roughly 200–2000 m elevation. It anchors on tree trunks and mossy rocks, favouring sites with a marked seasonal wet–dry cycle and large day-to-night temperature swings.

Distribution areas

  • Bangladesh

    • BangladeshNative

  • Bhutan

    • East HimalayaNative

  • China

    • China South-CentralNative
    • China SoutheastNative
    • HainanNative
    • TibetNative

  • Hong Kong

    • China SoutheastNative

  • India

    • AssamNative
    • East HimalayaNative
    • IndiaNative

  • Lao People's Democratic Republic

    • LaosNative

  • Macao

    • China SoutheastNative

  • Myanmar

    • MyanmarNative

  • Nepal

    • NepalNative

  • Taiwan, Province of China

    • China SoutheastNative

  • Thailand

    • ThailandNative

  • United States Minor Outlying Islands

    • HawaiiIntroduced

  • United States of America

    • HawaiiIntroduced

  • Viet Nam

    • VietnamNative

Climate of the native range

The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.

  • Cwa Temperate, dry winter, hot summer
  • Aw Tropical, savannah
  • Cfa Temperate, no dry season, hot summer
  • ET Polar, tundra
  • Am Tropical, monsoon
  • Cwb Temperate, dry winter, warm summer
  • BSh Arid, steppe, hot
  • Dwc Cold, dry winter, cold summer
  • Dwb Cold, dry winter, warm summer

The same climate occurs in 161 areas worldwide, 148 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map

A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).

Recorded medicinal uses

The cited source records medicinal use of this plant. It is not an assessment of efficacy or safety.

  • Dendrobium nobile is recorded as used medicinally.

    Source location: p.61, left column, line 17

    World Checklist of Useful Plant Species · Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) · CC BY 4.0 · source version: wcups-2020-62602715

    Open source

Other names

Noble dendrobium、Christmas orchid

Family
Orchidaceae
Genus
Dendrobium

Other species in Dendrobium

Sources

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Bangladesh · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Bhutan · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Hong Kong · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    India · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Lao People's Democratic Republic · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Macao · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Myanmar · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Nepal · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Thailand · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Taiwan, Province of China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    United States Minor Outlying Islands · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    United States of America · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Viet Nam · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

Image information

  • Photograph of Dendrobium nobile

    Maja Dumat from Deutschland (Germany) · CC BY 2.0 · File page