Australian Native Plants

  Coelandria smillieae (Bottlebrush Orchid)


Coelandria smillieae photo
Bottlebrush Orchid flower

Photograph by John Hill. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Coelandria smillieae photo
Coelandria smillieae

Photograph by Dalton Holland Baptista. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Coelandria smillieae photo
Bottlebrush Orchid - Coelandria smillieae

Photograph by Luna Morikawa, via Wikimedia Commons. License: copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed.    (view image details)




BOTTLEBRUSH ORCHID FACTS

distribution map showing range of Coelandria smillieae in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Bottlebrush Orchid

Other Names
Dendrobium smillieae

Description
The Bottlebrush Orchid is an epiphytic orchid from Queensland. It usually grows on trees but sometimes grows as a lithophyte on rocks. It produces clusters of white and pink flowers with green tips in heads that resemble a bottlebrush. The cluster is about 10cm to 15cm long, and each individual flower is about 20mm in length. The stems grow to about a metre in height (sometimes longer). The leaves are narrow growing to about 20cm long and about 4cm wide. This plant used to known as Dendrobium smillieae.

Habitat
grows on trees in rainforest and swamp areas where there is adequate light. Often grows on trees with papery bark.

Distribution
Coelandria smillieae is found in northern Queensland from around Townsville to Cape York peninsula. It is also found on some of the Torres Strait islands; as well as New Guinea and Indonesia.

Growth Characteristics
Height: 15cm - 150cm


Classification
Class:Liliopsida
Order:Asparagales
Family:Orchidaceae
Genus:Coelandria
Species:smillieae
Common Name:Bottlebrush Orchid