Christmas orchids | |
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Calanthe sylvatica in the Botanical Gardens Berlin - Orchid Exhibition | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
Tribe: | Collabieae |
Genus: | Calanthe R.Br. [1] |
Diversity | |
About 300 species | |
Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Calanthe, commonly known as Christmas orchids, [2] is a genus of about 220 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen or deciduous terrestrial plants with thick roots, small oval pseudobulbs, large corrugated leaves and upright, sometimes arching flowering stems. The sepals and petals are narrow and a similar size to each other and the labellum usually has spreading lobes.
Orchids in the genus Calanthe are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk. Some species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The flowers are delicate but showy, white, pink, yellow or orange and crowded near the end of an erect, sometimes arching flowering stem. The sepals and petals are relatively narrow, similar in size and spread widely. The labellum has three or four spreading lobes and in most species there is a spur at the base. Unlike similar orchids, the labellum of Calanthe orchids is fused to the column. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The genus Calanthe was first formally described in 1821 by Robert Brown and his manuscript was published in The Botanical Register . [8] [9] The name Calanthe is derived from the Ancient Greek words kallos meaning "beauty" [10] : 131 and anthos meaning "flower". [10] : 94
Calanthe species are found in all tropical areas, but mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia. Some species also range into subtropical lands such as China, India, Madagascar, Australia, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. [8]
The following is a list of species of Calanthe recognised by the Plants of the World Online as at August 2018: [11]
Coelogyne is a genus of over 200 sympodial epiphytes from the family Orchidaceae, distributed across India, China, Indonesia and the Fiji islands, with the main centers in Borneo, Sumatra and the Himalayas. They can be found from tropical lowland forests to montane rainforests. A few species grow as terrestrials or even as lithophytes in open, humid habitats. The genera BolborchisLindl., HologynePfitzer and PtychogynePfitzer are generally included here. The genus is abbreviated Coel. in trade journals.
Thrixspermum, commonly known as hairseeds or 白点兰属 , is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytes, lithophytes or terrestrial plants with flat, leathery leaves and short-lived flowers with the sepals and petals more or less similar to each other. The labellum is rigidly fixed to the column and has three lobes. The side lobes are erect and the middle lobe is thick and fleshy. There are about 190 species distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the Western Pacific. Most species grow in lowland or tropical rainforests up to an altitude of 1,200 m.
Phaius, commonly known as swamp orchids or in Chinese as 鶴頂蘭屬/鹤顶兰属 , is a genus of forty-five species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are evergreen, terrestrial herbs which form clumps with crowded, sometimes stem-like pseudobulbs, large, pleated leaves and relatively large, often colourful flowers. Species in this genus are found in the tropical parts of Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. One species is also naturalized in Hawaii, Florida, and the Caribbean.
Zeuxine, commonly known as verdant jewel orchids, is a genus of about eighty species of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. They are native to parts of tropical Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia and some Pacific Islands. They have relatively narrow, dark green leaves and small, dull-coloured resupinate flowers with the dorsal sepal and petals overlapping to form a hood over the column. The labellum has a pouched base and its tip has two lobes.
Goodyera, commonly called rattlesnake plantain, jade orchids or ladies' tresses is a wide-ranging genus of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. About 100 species of Goodyera have been formally described. With a center of diversity in East Asia, Goodyera is found across Europe, Madeira, North and Central America, Australia, and on islands from the west Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. They have a rosette of leaves at their base and usually many small white resupinate flowers. They are similar to orchids in the genus Spiranthes but can be distinguished from them by the shape and colour patterns of the leaves.
Gastrochilus, abbreviated Gchls in horticultural trade, is a genus of plant in family Orchidaceae. It is native to eastern and southeastern Asia, including China, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc.
Cylindrolobus is a genus of orchids with about 80 species that grow in New Guinea, Wallacea, Southeast Asia, southern China, and India.
Pinalia, commonly known as gremlin orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are large epiphytic or lithophytic plants with prominent pseudobulbs, each with up to three thin, flat leaves and cup-shaped, relatively short-lived flowers with scale-like brown hairs on the outside. There are about 120 species occurring from tropical to subtropical Asia to the south-west Pacific.
Podochilus is a genus of about 65 species of small, moss-like epiphytic orchids, distributed across China, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands.
The genus Arachnis, abbreviated as Arach in horticultural trade, is a member of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), consisting of more than 20 species native to China, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Robiquetia, commonly known as pouched orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are epiphytes with long, sometimes branched, fibrous stems, leathery leaves in two ranks and large numbers of small, densely crowded flowers on a pendulous flowering stem. There are about eighty species found from tropical and subtropical Asia to the Western Pacific.
Trichoglottis, commonly known as cherub orchids or 毛舌兰属 , is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic plants with thick roots, relatively thick, fibrous stems and many large, thick, leathery leaves arranged in two ranks. The flowers are usually small and yellowish with light brown or purple markings. The flowers have broad sepals, narrower petals and a labellum which has three lobes and is often hairy. There are about 85 species distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the north-western Pacific. Most species grow in rainforest.
Cheirostylis, commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome and a loose rosette of leaves. Small, white, hairy flowers develop as the leaves wither. They are found in tropical Africa, southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, New Guinea and Australia.
Collabium is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Species of Collabium are typically terrestrial and grow under shade in forests. They are distributed in southeast Asia from the Himalayas in India, Burma to China, and to the island groups in Malaysia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji.
Myrmechis is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to eastern and southeastern Asia from the Kuril Islands south to New Guinea, west to the Himalayas.
Peristylus, sometimes commonly known as ogre orchids or bog orchids is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It consists of over 100 known species found across much of eastern and southern Asia as well as in Australia and on many islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.