🇮🇳 Habitat and Ecology
Dendrobium bensoniae (the Benson's Dendrobium) is a medium-sized, pendent, deciduous epiphyte native to Southeast Asia. Its distribution spans the Eastern Himalayas, India (Assam, Manipur), Myanmar, Thailand, and China (Yunnan). It grows on trees in open, deciduous hill forests at elevations typically between 600 and 1,300 metres. This orchid is adapted to a monsoon climate with a hot, wet growing season followed by a cool, bright, and strictly dry winter rest period, which is mandatory for flower induction.
🌸 Description and Distinguishing Features
This orchid is a sympodial perennial known for its elegant, slender canes and vibrant blooms.
 * Pseudobulbs & Foliage: It produces long, slender, pendent, cane-like pseudobulbs (up to 60 cm long). The leaves are thin, deciduous (shedding annually in winter), and borne along the stem.
 * Flowers: The spectacular flowers are produced in short, lateral clusters (racemes) of 2 to 5 blooms from the nodes of the leafless or semi-leafless canes in late winter to early spring. The blooms are medium-sized (4-6 cm wide).
 * Aesthetics: The sepals and petals are typically pure white or pale rose. The lip (labellum) is the dominant feature: it is trumpet-shaped and coloured an intense orange-yellow or deep orange on the exterior, with two prominent, circular dark maroon or velvety black blotches on the inner throat. The flowers are fragrant.
 * Ethnobotany: The stems of Dendrobium species from this region are used in traditional medicine (such as Shi Hu in Chinese medicine) as a tonic, often valued for their mucilaginous properties.
 * Differentiation: D. bensoniae is easily distinguished by its unique lip markings:
   * Versus D. nobile: D. nobile has much larger canes and its dark blotch is single and crescent-shaped, situated at the base of the lip, lacking the two distinct, prominent, circular black eyes found on D. bensoniae.
   * Versus D. lituiflorum: D. lituiflorum has an entirely dark magenta, trumpet-shaped throat without the prominent twin black eyes.
💧 Cultivation and Care
Dendrobium bensoniae is a warm-to-intermediate growing orchid that demands a strictly enforced cool, bright, and dry winter rest to bloom.
 * Light: Requires bright, high, filtered light. Maximum exposure to winter sun (when leafless) is crucial for flower bud setting.
 * Substrate: Best grown mounted on cork bark or potted in a coarse, fast-draining medium (bark and charcoal).
 * Watering: Water heavily during the growing season (spring/summer). Enforce a cool, bright, and strictly dry winter rest (from late autumn until buds appear); only mist sparingly if canes shrivel excessively.
 * Temperature:
   * Optimal Daytime Temperature (Growing Season): 25-30 C (77-86 F).
   * Optimal Nighttime Temperature (Winter Rest): A cool drop is necessary, ideally 10-14 C (50-57 F).
 * Humidity: High humidity (60-80%) is preferred during active growth, alongside strong air circulation.
✨ Unique Features
This orchid is a magnificent collector's item prized for its pure white petals beautifully contrasting with the golden-orange lip and the two prominent, velvety black 'eyes' in the throat. Its deciduous nature and dependence on a cool, dry winter rest make achieving its spectacular floral display a satisfying annual challenge.
🏷️ Specifications
Plant Size: not yet flowering size.  Deflasked 18 months ago and on mounts. Please consult the example picture.
Plant Family: Orchidaceae
Plant Passport: A Dendrobium bensoniae B 140084 C [buyer to use number of the plant label] D GB