The specific epithet "lindenii" is derived from its discoverer, the Belgian plant collector Jean Jules Linden, who saw this orchid for the first time in Cuba in 1844.

They bear distinctive white "track marks", for which the technical term is pneumatodes, which are believed to function partly like stomata, enabling the photosynthetic roots to perform the gas exchange necessary for respiration and photosynthesis.

The species is endangered in the wild, and cultivation has proven exceptionally difficult, but while most attempts to raise seedlings into adult plants in sterile culture end in failure, some orchidists have in fact succeeded.

[5] This orchid is listed in Appendix II of CITES[6] and is fully protected by Florida state laws, which forbid its removal from the wild.

In the wild, Dendrophylax lindenii typically grows on the central trunk or large main branches of living trees.

[8] Dendrophylax lindenii blossoms between June and August, producing one to ten fragrant flowers that open one at a time.

[9] The lower petal, the labellum, has two long, lateral tendrils that twist slightly downward, resembling the hind legs of a jumping frog.

New research[11] suggests that based on this finding, nearly a dozen species of hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) could also serve as potential pollinators in Florida, with even more present in Cuba.

Plants can be successfully grown in a terrarium-like environment, mounted bare-root on a decay-resistant, untreated wooden stock with the wood laid horizontally on top of a bed of living sphagnum moss, as the plants require high humidity and stagnant air, or, in a Wardian case or greenhouse which approximates these conditions.

Continued exposure to chlorinated tap water will usually kill these plants, with the tips of the roots yellowing and rapidly dying back to the reduced stem.

The plant's root tips will grow continuously, provided they receive bright light and regular fertilization and watering, with only a short resting period in late fall/early winter.

Blooming is triggered by subjecting the plants to a cool, dry resting period, with only very light misting every few weeks, and lowering the humidity in the growing environment for a period of several months in late fall and early winter, when the plants are large enough to support flowering, typically with a root mass of 180–200 mm (7–8 in) across.