This invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Orchid named Dendrobium Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99, a hybrid of the Genus Dendrobium (Dendrobium unicomxc3x97Dendrobium ukon), referred to herein by its grex and varietal name Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99. Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 is a distinct variety selected from progeny of a cross between the unpatented Dendrobium unicum and Dendrobium unkon. The same cross has produced other Stardust family members (see below).
The chronology of events leading to selection of Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 is as follows: Dendrobium unicum and Dendrobium unkon were crossed in 1980 and seedlings were placed in flasks in October of that year. These seedlings were grown to maturity, flowered, and the Grex epithet Stardust was registered with The Royal Horticultural Society, The International Registration Authority for Orchid Hybrids, in 1986 by N. Ashi. From this group of seedlings a plant with desirable characteristics (i.e., good flowers, compact growth habit, and fast growth), was selected and given the varietal epithet xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99.
This plant was then reproduced asexually using conventional meristem culture techniques for tissue culture of orchids (Plants from Test Tubes, Lydiane Kyte and John Kleyn, eds., Timber Press (1996)). Asexual reproduction took place at 60 Aza Hanto, Oaza Ishihama, Higashiuratnachi, Chita Gun, Aichi, Japan, and Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 reliably reproduced true to type. A long testing period followed.
In February of 1993, the plants of Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 continued to display the desirable characteristics selected for. These plants were then examined for their susceptibility or immunity from known diseases, namely, Dendrobium virus, Dendrobium Thabdo virus and Tomato Spotted Wilt virus. Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 displayed immunity to those diseases. All developmental work was done in a glass greenhouse located at Aichi-ken, Japan where minimum temperature was kept at 13xc2x0 C.
Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 is descended from 5 species of the genus Dendrobium. These are Dendrobium unicum, Dendrobium moniliforme, Dendrobium aureum, Dendrobium signatum, and Dendrobium nobile. These species have been extensively used in hybridizing and are found over an extremely large area having a wide range of habitat elevations. The habitat area extends from India in the West to Japan in the north, and Australia and New Zealand in the south. Eastward, the habitat includes most of the Pacific Islands. The species are found from sea level to elevations as high as 12,000 feet. It is impossible to make accurate generalizations about the horticulture of the Dendrobium species but it can be said that its hybrids have cultural requirements which are similar to parents Dendrobium unicum and Dendrobium ukon, neither which is patented, and form a predictable guide. Dendrobium unicum and Dendrobium ukon and Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 have rather large attractive flowers and are generally easy to cultivate.
Dendrobium unicum is a very distinctive species from Thailand and Laos. It has a deep orange color. It differs significantly from Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 in that the petals and sepals are very narrow and strongly reflexed, the lip is larger than petals and sepals, is brownish orange and has a 3 ridged callus along the center. Dendrobium ukon is a hybrid, registered with The Royal Horticultural Society in 1979 by H. Furuse. It differs from Stardust xe2x80x98Firebirdxe2x80x99 in growth habit, in the pseudobulbs being quite large and swollen in the middle, and in flower shape and size. Flowers are usually white or pink, petals larger than sepals, with a broad flat lip. Petals and sepals are also much wider at the apex than at the base.