Orchid on a pine tree? The first encounter with this compact and incredibly aesthetic epiphytic plant was also my first encounter with local wild orchids in general. "Enchanting dendrobium" — that’s how it felt in a word. What a delight it was! A surprisingly large flower, relative to the small "body" of the plant — ribbed bulbs and leathery leaves — exuded an unforgettable aroma. Since then, whenever I catch this perfume in a pine forest, I begin to search for a white orchid with my eyes. Dendrobium bellatulum blooms somewhere nearby, either on the pine tree itself, on a fallen branch stuck in its fork, or on an oak, or perhaps a chestnut. According to our observations, these are the main tree species where these orchids prefer to take root, that is, in light forests. Sometimes they bloom right on the ground, where they typically fall along with a branch, connected to it by a network of roots.

Pines, which secrete phytoncides as products of their metabolic processes, use them to strengthen their own natural immunity. It seems that their influence also extends to plants that have settled on pine trunks and branches. The same can be said about oaks, on which we often see the enchanting dendrobium. There are probably more species of pine-loving orchids, though so far I have counted only five — and this one, fortunately, is still one of the most common.