Abstract: Dendrobium catenatum Lindl.has been used as a valuable medicinal herb in China for a long time.In the last twenty years,research and production of this medicinal plant have made significant progress.The present paper attempts to make a brief summary,as well as an evaluation,of the recent developments in the study of rapid propagation of this species,based on both document information and our own experiments in the National Orchid Conservation Center of China.In view of the confusion related to its scientific and Chinese names found in the literature,a nomenclatural and taxonomic clarification is provided here.We suggest that Dendrobium catenatum Lindl.,the earliest legitimate name,should be used as its scientific name,and "Tie Pi Shi Hu",the most popular name in China,as its Chinese name.