ABSTRACT
Dendrobium officinale is a member of the family Orchidaceae. The dried stem of D. officinale is used as a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, known as Dendrobii Officamlis Caulis (called TiepiShihu in Chinese). According to Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Dendrobii Officamlis Caulis has effects of tonifying stomach, promoting fluid, nourishing Yin and clearing heat. At present, the planting area of D. officinale is over 100 000 Mu (over 6 670 hm2) and the annual output of its fresh stem is in excess of 10 000 tons. Good variety is the guarantee of herbal medicine's quality, while germplasm resource is the base for breeding excellent variety. In this paper, we summed the characteristics of present main varieties of D. officinale and reviewed the progress on germplasm resources and genetics and breeding of the plant, in order to provide a scientific basis for the further research.