Dendrobium secundum

Native from Bangladesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands through Southeast Asia to Indonesia, this perennial orchid grows on trees in lowland forests and open woodlands. Its cane-like stems start upright and become pendulous as they age. Flower clusters develop near the ends of older, leafless stems. The small, waxy pink to purple flowers face the same direction along the stalk, creating the toothbrush-like arrangement behind its common name. Each bloom has a contrasting orange lip, and a single cluster may carry as many as fifty flowers. Presumed lost from Singapore’s natural populations, it was reintroduced there in a conservation program using plants from Peninsular Malaysia. Photographed in Florida.