Burmanniaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of 99 species of herbaceous plants in eight genera.
Acanthophippium is a genus of orchid with thirteen species. The name of this genus is derived from the Greek words acanthos ("spiny") and ephippion ("saddle"), referring to the saddle-like labellum of the plants.
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.
Galeola is a genus of orchids belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae.
Neottia nidus-avis, the bird's-nest orchid, is a non-photosynthetic orchid, native to Europe, Russia and some parts of the Middle East.
Myco-heterotrophy is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon fungi rather than from photosynthesis. A myco-heterotroph is the parasitic plant partner in this relationship. Myco-heterotrophy is considered a kind of cheating relationship and myco-heterotrophs are sometimes informally referred to as "mycorrhizal cheaters". This relationship is sometimes referred to as mycotrophy, though this term is also used for plants that engage in mutualistic mycorrhizal relationships.
Wullschlaegelia is a genus of orchids,, consisting of two species in the Caribbean Islands and to much of Latin America from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. These are myco-heterotrophic plants, lacking chlorophyll and subsisting entirely on nutrients obtained from soil fungi. The genus has previously been included in the tribe Calypsoeae, but is now included as the only genus in the tribe Wullschlaegelieae, pending further study.
Uleiorchis is a genus of myco-heterotrophic flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are two known species, native to Central and South America.
Corsia is a little-studied plant genus from the monocotyledon family Corsiaceae. It was first described in 1877 by Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari and contains 25 species, all of which lack chlorophyll and parasitize fungi for nutrition. All 25 species are distributed through New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands and Queensland, Australia.
Cyrtosia septentrionalis is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is a myco-heterotrophic species found in Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, and China.
Limodorum is an orchid genus in the family Orchidaceae. A very long list of names have been proposed over the years, most of these species once part of Limodorum long having been transferred to other genera. At present, there are three currently recognised members of the Limodorum':
Burmannia is a genus of flowering plants long thought of as related to orchids, although more recent studies suggest closer affinities with either the Dioscoreales or the Melanthiales. The plants are herbs, partially autotrophic (photosynthetic) but also partially parasitic on soil fungi.
Hexalectris arizonica, the spiked crested coralroot or Arizona crested coralroot, is a terrestrial, myco-heterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll and subsisting entirely on nutrients obtained from mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. It is native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Coahuila. It is closely related to H. spicata and sometimes regarded as a variety of that species.
Hexalectris spicata, the spiked crested coralroot, is a terrestrial, myco-heterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll and subsisting entirely on nutrients obtained from mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. It is native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Coahuila. It is closely related to H. arizonica and the two are sometimes considered varieties of the same species. Hexalectris spicata is endemic to the southern half of the United States from Arizona east to Florida and north to Maryland and the Ohio Valley.
Hexalectris colemanii, or Coleman's crested coralroot, is a terrestrial, myco-heterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll and subsisting entirely on nutrients obtained from mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. It is a very rare species endemic to southern Arizona, known from only three counties. It is closely related to H. revoluta and the two are sometimes considered varieties of the same species.
Hexalectris revoluta, the Chisos Mountain crested coralroot, is a terrestrial, myco-heterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll and subsisting entirely on nutrients obtained from mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. It is closely related to H. colemanii; the two are regarded by some authors as varieties of the same species. Hexalectris revoluta is native to western Texas, southeastern New Mexico and Chihuahua.
Vietorchis is a genus of myco-heterotrophic flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains only one known species, Vietorchis aurea, endemic to northern Vietnam.
Hexalectris warnockii, the Texas crested coralroot, Texas purple-spike, is a myco-heterotrophic orchid found in the states of Texas and Arizona in the southwestern United States, and in the states of Coahuila and Baja California Sur in northern Mexico. Being myco-heterotrophic, H. warnockii derives all of its nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi.
