Dendrobium agathodaemonis

Dendrobium agathodaemonis is very closely related to Dendrobium cuthbertsonii and considered to be the same species by some.  To my mind, however, they are quite different, the former species having very thin growths and flowers without the dark lip markings that Dendrobium cuthbertsonii has.  This is a plant I grew from a seedling and which has rather small but very clear red flowers.  The plant is only a couple of centimeters tall and the flowers around three centimeters long.  Like its close relative, it is from New Guinea and is cool growing.

Dendrobium agathodaemonis

This plant is often considered to be a variety of Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, which it does resemble in some respects.  It is different, however, in the fact that the growths are generally smaller and thinner than those of cuthbertsonii, and the flowers lack the dark coloring on the midlobe of the lip - they are pure white in this case.  My plant is 4 cm tall with flowers that are very close to that size and which dwarf the plant.  The plant is a prolific bloomer with long-lasting flowers and is in bloom nearly year around.  It is native to Papua New Guinea.  The flowers are semi-pendant and the plant, for that reason, is best grown on a mount.