Family Description
Plants perennial, terrestrial, epiphytic or lithophytic, sometimes mycotrophic; growth monopodial or sympodial; roots adventitious, often aerial, sometimes assimilatory. Stems usually leafy, often with one or more swollen internodes forming pseudobulbs. Leaves usually entire, alternate or opposite, often distichous, plicate or convolute; membranous to coriaceous, often terete or reduced to scale-like bracts, usually sheathed. Inflorescences erect or pendent; spicate, racemose or paniculate, 1- to many-flowered; basal, lateral or terminal. Flowers small to large; zygomorphic; sessile or variously pedicellate; resupinate or non-resupinate. Sepals three, free or connate; dorsal sepal often dissimilar to lateral sepals; lateral sepal sometimes adnate to the column to form a saccate, conical or spur-like mentum. Petals three (medial petal distinguished from the others as the lip), usually free. Lip entire or variously lobed, often with ornamented calluses, with or without a basal spur or nectary. Column short or long, with or without a basal foot, winged or lacking wings; fertile anther one (rarely two or three), terminal or incumbent, cap-like or dehiscing; pollen often agglutinated into discrete masses called pollinia; pollinia mealy, waxy or horny, soft or hard, sectile or not, 2,4,6 or 8, sessile or attached by caudicles or stipes to one or two viscidia forming a pollinarium; stigma 3-lobed, midlobe often modified to form a rostellum. Ovary inferior, unilocular with parietal placentation or rarely 3-locular with axile placentation. Fruit a capsule, usually opening laterally; seeds numerous, dust-like.
Genus Description
Plants perennial, terrestrial, epiphytic or lithophytic, sometimes mycotrophic; growth monopodial or sympodial; roots adventitious, often aerial, sometimes assililatory. Stems usually leafy, often with one or more swollen internodes forming pseudobulbs. Leaves usually entire, alternate or opposite, often distichous, plicate or convolute; mambranous to coriaceous, often terete or reduced to scale-like bracts, usually sheathed. Inflorescence erect or pendent; spicate, racemose or paniculate, 1- to many-flowered; basal, lateral or terminal. Flowers small to large; zygomorphic; sessile or variously pedicellate; resupinate or non-resupinate. sepals three, free or connate; dorsal sepal often disimilar to lateral sepals; lateral sepal sometimes adnate to the column to form a saccate, conical or spur-like mentum. Petals 3, usually free. Lip entire or variously lobed, often with ornamented calluses, with or without a basal spur or nectary. column short or long, with or without a basal foot, winged or lacking wings; fertile anther one, terminal or incumbent, cap-like or dehiscing; pollen often agglutinated in to discrete masses called pollina; pollina, mealy, waxy or horny, soft or hard, sectile or not, 2,4,6 or 8, sessile or attached by caudicles or stipes to one or two viscidia forming a pollinarium; stigma 3-lobed, midlobe often modified to form a rostellum. Ovary inferiort, unilocular with parietal placentation or rarely 3-locular with axile placentation. Fruit a capsule, usually opening laterally; seeds numerous, dust-like.
Species Description
Plant epiphytic or lithophytic, 30-50cm tall; roots fasciculate. Stem elongate, slender, swollen at base, erect or weakly zigzag, often pendent at ape x ,jointed, glabrous, bearing alternate leaves; internodes 2-4cm long. Leaves ovate-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, sessile, sheathing at base, 4-9 * 0.6-1.5cm; sheaths tubular, 2-4cm long. Infloroscence lateral, arising from nodes, clustered, 1- to 3-flowered; peduncle short; floral bracts lanceolate, acute, membranous, 4-5 * 1-2mm. Flowers 2-4cm long and wide; sepals cream to white, purple-tinged, petals cream to white with pink-purple towards ape x , lip cream or white tinged with pink, yellow in centre; pedicel and ovary slender, glabrous, 2-3cm long. Sepals similar, oblong-lanceolate, acute, 5-veined, 2-2.9 * 0.5-0.8cm; lateral sepals adnate at base to form a mentum; mentum 4mm long. Petals lanceolate-ovate, acute, margins fimbriate, 2-2.5 * 0.8-1cm. Lip simple, orbicular-cordate, shortly clawed at concave base, margins deeply fimbriate, 2-2.8 * 2-3.5cm. Column erect,c.7mm long, widening and 2-winged towards ape x .
