The Orchidaceae are a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family.
Aerides, known commonly as cat's-tail orchids and fox brush orchids, is a genus belonging to the orchid family. It is a group of tropical epiphyte orchids that grow mainly in the warm lowlands of tropical Asia from India to southern China to New Guinea. They are valued in horticulture for their racemes of showy, fragrant, colorful flowers.
The taxonomy of the Orchidaceae has evolved slowly during the last 250 years, starting with Carl Linnaeus who in 1753 recognized eight genera. De Jussieu recognized the Orchidaceae as a separate family in his Genera Plantarum in 1789. Olof Swartz recognized 25 genera in 1800. Louis Claude Richard provided us in 1817 with the descriptive terminology of the orchids.. The next step was taken in 1830-1840 by John Lindley, who recognized four subfamilies. He is generally recognized as the father of orchid taxonomy. The next important step was taken by George Bentham with a new classification, recognizing subtribes for the first time. This classification was first presented in a paper that Bentham read to the Royal Society in 1881. Then it was published in 1883 in the final volume of Genera Plantarum. The next great contributors were Pfitzer (1887), Schlechter (1926), Mansfeld (1937), Dressler and Dodson (1960), Garay, Vermeulen (1966), again Dressler (1981). and Burns-Balogh and Funk (1986). Dressler's 1993 book had considerable influence on later work.
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.
Acriopsis emarginata, commonly known as the pale chandelier orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Queensland. It is a clump-forming epiphyte with dark green leaves and curved, branching flower stems with many white and cream-coloured flowers.
Acriopsis javanica is a species of orchid that is native to Southeast Asia, New Guinea, some Pacific islands and northern Australia. It is a clump-forming epiphyte with dark green leaves and curved, branching flower stems with many white and cream-coloured flowers with purple markings.
Eulophia guineensis is a species of orchid. It is the type species of the genus Eulophia and is commonly known as the Guinea Eulophia or the broad-Leaved ground orchid. It is found in the Cape Verde Islands, much of tropical Africa and part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a terrestrial orchid that can grow to a metre or so tall, and is found in lowland and upland woods and scrubland.
Bulbophyllum gadgarrense, commonly known as the tangled rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid with small pseudobulbs hidden beneath purplish brown bracts, dark green, grooved leaves and small white flowers with orange or yellow tips. It grows on rainforest trees in tropical North Queensland.
Epidendrum parviflorum is a small-flowered reed-stemmed Epidendrum orchid found in the montane tropical wet forests of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Amazonas, Peru.
Micropera, commonly known as dismal orchids or 小囊兰属 is a genus of about twenty species of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are large epiphytes with thick roots, long, fibrous stems, linear leaves and whitish or yellow, non-resupinate flowers. The sepals and petals are similar to each other and the labellum is shoe-shaped or sac-like and has three lobes. It is found from Tibet to tropical Asia and the western Pacific Ocean.
Pomatocalpa, commonly known as bladder orchids, or 鹿角兰属 , is a genus of about twenty five species from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are epiphytes or lithophytes with thick, leathery leaves and a large number of small flowers with a three-lobed labellum. There are about twenty five species found from tropical and subtropical Asia to the south-west Pacific.
Vanilla polylepis is a climbing orchid species in the plant family Orchidaceae. It is native to tropical Africa, with a range spanning the width of the continent, from Kenya to Angola. It grows in high-altitude evergreen and swamp forests between 1,200–1,500 m (3,900–4,900 ft) and is often found growing on trees bordering rivers and waterfalls. Plants produce bright green, fleshy stems, 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) in diameter, with large, glossy leaves. White, aerial roots form on the stems allowing the orchids to attach themselves to trees for support. As with many orchids, they produce showy flowers, which in the case of V. polylepis are white and yellow with a pink to maroon blotch. This differentiates them from similar species. They have seedpod-like fruits, called capsules, which produce a distinctive aroma as they dry. They are closely related to the well-known species Vanilla planifolia, whose seed pods are used commercially in the production of vanilla flavouring.
The Knobbly fig is an African species of cauliflorous fig. It is named after Zanzibar, where Franz Stuhlmann discovered it in 1889. They often begin life as epiphytes, which assume a strangling habit as they develop. They regularly reach 10 m, but may grow up to 40 m tall as forest stranglers.
Newtonia hildebrandtii, the Lebombo wattle, is a medium-sized tree native to eastern Africa. It is a protected tree in South Africa.
Robiquetia gracilistipes, commonly known as the large pouched orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid from the family Orchidaceae that forms large, hanging, straggly clumps. It has long, thick, roots, a single stem, many thick, leathery leaves and up to forty cream-coloured, pale green or brownish flowers with red spots and a three-lobed labellum. It grows on trees and rocks in rainforest, usually in bright light. It is found in Malesia including New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and tropical North Queensland, Australia.
Taeniophyllum muelleri, commonly known as the chain ribbonroot, is a species of leafless epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that usually forms tangled colonies. It has short stems and cylindrical green roots pressed against the substrate on which it is growing. Between five and twelve yellowish green, tube-shaped flowers open one at a time. This orchid occurs in eastern Australia and New Caledonia.
Phreatia crassiuscula, commonly known as the green caterpillar orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is an epiphyte or lithophyte with three to six fleshy, channelled leaves in a fan-like arrangement. Up to sixty tiny white, cream-coloured or greenish flowers are arranged along a curved flowering stem. It is endemic to tropical North Queensland.
Thelasis carinata, commonly known as the triangular fly orchid, is a plant in the orchid family. It is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte that lacks pseudobulbs. There are groups of between two and six erect, flattened stems each with up to six leaves that have a ridged lower surface. Up to fifteen green and white flowers are arranged on a thin but stiff flowering stem. This orchid is found from Thailand to the southwest Pacific.
Drypetes arguta, commonly known as the water ironplum, is a species of small tree or large bush in the family Putranjivaceae. It is native to tropical East Africa. It was first described in 1920 by the English botanist John Hutchinson, who named it Cyclostemon argutus. It was later transferred to the genus Drypetes.
Stelis gracilis is a species of leach orchid, which is one of the largest genera in the orchid family, with over 600 species. Stelis gracilis are small epiphytes with greenish-white flowers in raceme inflorescences. This rare species of orchid is found in tropical rainforests in North and Central America. It was first described by the American botanist Oakes Ames in 1908.
