Olof Swartz named the genus Dendrobium in 1799. The name was published in Nova Acta Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis. The generic name refers to the epiphytic habit of the majority of the species. Dendrobium from the Gk dendron (a tree) biss (life) with reference to the aerial existence of the species (life in a tree).

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This genus of some 1500 species is the second largest genus in Orchidaceae.

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The type species for this large, commonly grown genus is Dendrobium moniliforme (L.) Sw.
Dendrobiums are one of the most widely distributed orchid genera. They are found as far north as Korea and Japan, throughout China, west to India and Sri Lanka, down through Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, the Philippines, Guam, New Guinea (which has the most species of any country) to Australia and as far east as New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean.  Dendrobium habitats range from the steaming tropical coastal jungles of Malaya to the wind- and snow-swept mountains of the Himalayas.

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