Dendrobium Enobi Purple and its labellum with a distinctive mullet.

Most Dendrobium orchids are epiphytes; there are more than 1000 species. A key identifying feature is often the labellum. A mullet mohawk gracing the Labellum’s middle lobe caught my eye.

Mullets lure and guide insects to the plant. They direct them toward the pollinia, looming overhead on the tower structure, the defining feature of orchids.

Side lobes of the labellum curve up and over. Insects land on the outer lip and scramble over the central lobe, packed with trichomes. Low ridges track the length of the central lobe,

All roads lead to the pollinium and an insect leaving with a pollen bomb.