Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.
Bulbophyllum is a genus of mostly epiphytic and lithophytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae. It is the largest genus in the orchid family and one of the largest genera of flowering plants with more than 2,000 species, exceeded in number only by Astragalus. These orchids are found in diverse habitats throughout most of the warmer parts of the world including Africa, southern Asia, Latin America, the West Indies, and various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Orchids in this genus have thread-like or fibrous roots that creep over the surface of trees or rocks or hang from branches. The stem is divided into a rhizome and a pseudobulb, a feature that distinguished this genus from Dendrobium. There is usually only a single leaf at the top of the pseudobulb and from one to many flowers are arranged along an unbranched flowering stem that arises from the base of the pseudobulb. Several attempts have been made to separate Bulbophyllum into smaller genera, but most have not been accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.
Laelia is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). Laelia species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. Laelia is abbreviated L. in the horticultural trade.
Disa is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. It comprises about 182 species. Most of the species are indigenous to tropical and southern Africa, with a few more in the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar, and Réunion. Disa bracteata is naturalised in Western Australia, where the local name is "African weed-orchid."
The Orchidoideae, or the orchidoid orchids, are a subfamily of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) that contains around 3630 species. Species typically have a single (monandrous), fertile anther which is erect and basitonic.
The Oncidiinae is a subtribe within the Orchidaceae that consists of a number of genera that are closely related.
Epidendroideae is a subfamily of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Epidendroideae is larger than all the other orchid subfamilies together, comprising more than 15,000 species in 576 genera. Most epidendroid orchids are tropical epiphytes, typically with pseudobulbs. There are, however, some terrestrials such as Epipactis and even a few myco-heterotrophs, which are parasitic upon mycorrhizal fungi.
Hexalectris is a genus of the family Orchidaceae, comprising 10 known species of fully myco-heterotrophic orchids. These species are found in North America, with the center of diversity in northern Mexico. None of the species are particularly common. Hexalectris spicata has a wide distribution and is likely the most abundant member of the genus, but is nevertheless infrequent throughout its range. Other species are rare, and some, such as H. colemanii, are threatened or endangered. All species that have been studied form associations with ectomycorrhizal fungi that are likely linked to surrounding trees. Many Hexalectris species are found in association with oak trees (Quercus), which are ectomycorrhizal.
Thunia is a genus of orchids. It is now included in the subtribe Coelogyninae, but was previously treated as the only genus of the subtribe Thuniinae. The genus comprises 6 species, native to Southeast Asia. It is abbreviated Thu in trade journals.
Oeonia is a genus of rare orchids (family comprising 5 currently accepted species native to Madagascar and the Mascarenes.
Rhynchostylis is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), closely allied to the genus Vanda and comprising four currently accepted species native to the Indian Subcontinent, China, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The name consists of a compound of two Greek elements : rhynchos 'beak' and stylis 'column' – in reference to the very broad, fleshy column of the flower. The flowers are borne in dense racemes and are noted for their intense, spicy fragrance. Although lacking in pseudobulbs, the plants have leathery leaves that are drought-resistant. These orchids grow naturally in warm, moist, shaded tropical areas and will thrive in cultivation if given consistent warmth, uniform moisture and bright, but indirect light. Hobbyists wanting to grow them will need a warm, humid growing environment with gentle air movement. They can be grown in pots, but are better grown in baskets, owing to the extreme fleshiness of their roots. Their unusually fragrant blooms often appear in the slightly cooler winter months.
The Vandeae is a large monophyletic tribe within the family of orchids.
Eulophia pulchra, commonly known as the gonzo orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is native to areas from Tanzania and Mozambique to the Western Pacific Ocean. It is a terrestrial orchid with crowded, above-ground pseudobulbs, two or three leaves and pale yellowish green flowers with dull purple or red markings. It grows in plant litter in rainforests.
The tribe Epidendreae of the Orchidaceae comprises six subtribes:
Oeceoclades, collectively known as the monk orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is related to Eulophia and like that genus is mostly terrestrial in habit. A few species extend into very arid environments, unusual for an orchid.
Dendrobieae is a tribe in the subfamily Epidendroideae, in the family Orchidaceae. The Dendrobieae are mostly tropical, epiphytic orchids which contain pseudobulbs.
Orchideae is a tribe of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae. Historically, it was divided into 2 subtribes, Orchidinae and Habenariinae. The subtribe Orchidinae alone contains about 1,800 species. However, although some phylogenetic studies have established the monophyly of the subtribes, the generic boundaries are unclear, with many genera as traditionally circumscribed being paraphyletic or even polyphyletic. Species of genera such as Habenaria and Platanthera have been placed into both subtribes. A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study found that both subtribes did form clades, but did not formally recognize Habenariinae, because of missing genera and uncertainty over generic boundaries. The Asian species of Orchideae, in particular, have been subject to repeated changes of generic placement from 2012 onwards.
Leslie Andrew Garay, born Garay László András, was an American botanist. He was the curator of the Oakes Ames Orchid Herbarium at Harvard University, where he succeeded Charles Schweinfurth in 1958. In 1957 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Oeceoclades beravensis is a terrestrial orchid species in the genus Oeceoclades that is endemic to the southern and western Madagascar where it grows in the sandy soils of western dry forests and wooded grasslands. This species has cane-like stems and forms dense clumps in the understorey, a feature that makes it unique among the Eulophiinae species found in Madagascar. Like other orchid species in Eulophia and Oeceoclades that are adapted to arid climates, O. beravensis has narrow and coriaceous leaves with minute serrations.
Mark Alwin Clements (b. 1949) is an Australian botanist and orchidologist. He obtained his doctorate at the Australian National University defending his thesis entitled Reproductive Biology in relation to phylogeny of the Orchidaceae, especially the tribe Diurideae.
