diff --git a/src/init.cpp b/src/init.cpp
index 31f64878f..8f336c31f 100644
--- a/src/init.cpp
+++ b/src/init.cpp
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ std::string HelpMessage(HelpMessageMode mode)
     strUsage += "  -dbcache=<n>           " + strprintf(_("Set database cache size in megabytes (%d to %d, default: %d)"), nMinDbCache, nMaxDbCache, nDefaultDbCache) + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -loadblock=<file>      " + _("Imports blocks from external blk000??.dat file") + " " + _("on startup") + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -maxorphanblocks=<n>   " + strprintf(_("Keep at most <n> unconnectable blocks in memory (default: %u)"), DEFAULT_MAX_ORPHAN_BLOCKS) + "\n";
+    strUsage += "  -maxorphantx=<n>       " + strprintf(_("Keep at most <n> unconnectable transactions in memory (default: %u)"), DEFAULT_MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS) + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -par=<n>               " + strprintf(_("Set the number of script verification threads (%u to %d, 0 = auto, <0 = leave that many cores free, default: %d)"), -(int)boost::thread::hardware_concurrency(), MAX_SCRIPTCHECK_THREADS, DEFAULT_SCRIPTCHECK_THREADS) + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -pid=<file>            " + _("Specify pid file (default: bitcoind.pid)") + "\n";
     strUsage += "  -reindex               " + _("Rebuild block chain index from current blk000??.dat files") + " " + _("on startup") + "\n";
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 6a2e6ac65..f97825496 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -3856,7 +3856,8 @@ bool static ProcessMessage(CNode* pfrom, string strCommand, CDataStream& vRecv,
             AddOrphanTx(tx, pfrom->GetId());
 
             // DoS prevention: do not allow mapOrphanTransactions to grow unbounded
-            unsigned int nEvicted = LimitOrphanTxSize(MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS);
+            unsigned int nMaxOrphanTx = (unsigned int)std::max((int64_t)0, GetArg("-maxorphantx", DEFAULT_MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS));
+            unsigned int nEvicted = LimitOrphanTxSize(nMaxOrphanTx);
             if (nEvicted > 0)
                 LogPrint("mempool", "mapOrphan overflow, removed %u tx\n", nEvicted);
         } else if (pfrom->fWhitelisted) {
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 30cccab2f..d340fd0b6 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ static const unsigned int MAX_BLOCK_SIGOPS = MAX_BLOCK_SIZE/50;
 static const unsigned int MAX_P2SH_SIGOPS = 15;
 /** The maximum number of sigops we're willing to relay/mine in a single tx */
 static const unsigned int MAX_TX_SIGOPS = MAX_BLOCK_SIGOPS/5;
-/** The maximum number of orphan transactions kept in memory */
-static const unsigned int MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS = MAX_BLOCK_SIZE/100;
+/** Default for -maxorphantx, maximum number of orphan transactions kept in memory */
+static const unsigned int DEFAULT_MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS = 100;
 /** Default for -maxorphanblocks, maximum number of orphan blocks kept in memory */
 static const unsigned int DEFAULT_MAX_ORPHAN_BLOCKS = 750;
 /** The maximum size of a blk?????.dat file (since 0.8) */