Welcome to the world of Dendrobium officinale

At first glance you might assume this is just another beautiful flower, but you would be very wrong! Dendrobium officinale, or T'ieh-p'i Shih-hu, is actually an endangered orchid native to South and Southeast Asia. Traditionally this orchid has been used for medicinal purposes in the Chinese culture.


When you think of orchids you may think of the pretty pink or white orchids, but in fact there are HUNDREDS of different types of orchids in Dendrobium genus alone! To discover more about where D. officinale fits with other orchids explore my classification page. Orchids are also quite unique in their reproduction. Dendrobium orchids can reproduce in three different ways, to learn about these different ways go to my reproduction page. In order for Dendrobium officinale to reproduce it needs to interact with a mycorrhizal fungi for germination.

Dendrobium officinale is a unique orchid because it grows on rocks, trees, or even cliffs. This orchid's habitat is really on the edge! Speaking of living on the edge, nutrition is hard to come by, tropical and subtropical areas in China are often quite shady thus obtaining nutrients is a challenge. Dendrobium officinale has developed specific adaptations for acquiring essential nutrients to survive.


Recently Japanese and American biochemists have begun to investigate the healing powers of Dendrobium officinale. Scientists have discovered that this orchid has possible antibiotic and cancer fighting abilities! Why has this miraculous orchid been overlooked by health professionals until now? In this website I will guide you through this marvelous orchid, so you too can see the bright future ahead for this orchid, and our health care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To find about more organisms that are used for medicinal purposes check out multipleorganisms.net, these websites were created in 2011 by my classmates! For organisms that are from all over the world check out the main site.

These wonderful websites were created by students in Organismal Biology at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.