''Bryobium'', commonly known as urchin orchids or 藓兰属 (xian lan shu), is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

plants with large, fleshy

pseudobulb The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and ...

s, each with up to three leathery leaves and small, often hairy flowers. These orchids are found from

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

to northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Description

Orchids in the genus are epiphytic or lithophytic

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with thread-like roots and relatively large, fleshy pseudobulbs that are usually covered by papery

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s when young. Each pseudobulb has up to three flat, usually leathery leaves. The flowers are usually white, cream-coloured or pinkish, do not open widely and last for up to a few days. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

is free but the

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction *Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle *Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral cons ...

sepals are fused to the base of the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are free from each other and usually smaller than the sepals. The labellum often has three lobes, in which case the side lobes are erect.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Bryobium'' was first formally described in 1836 by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

who published the description in ''A natural system of botany, or, A systematic view of the organization, natural affinities, and geographical distribution, of the whole vegetable kingdom''. The name ''Bryobium'' is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

words ''bryon'' meaning "moss" and ''bios'' meaning "life", an apparent reference to the habit of plants in this genus.

Species list

''Bryobium'' species accepted by the

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

as of February 2021: *'' Bryobium atrorubens'' *''

Bryobium bicristatum ''Bryobium'', commonly known as urchin orchids or 藓兰属 (xian lan shu), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic or lithophytic plants with large, fleshy pseudobulbs, each with up to three ...

'' *''

Bryobium cordiferum ''Bryobium'', commonly known as urchin orchids or 藓兰属 (xian lan shu), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic or lithophytic plants with large, fleshy pseudobulbs, each with up to three ...

'' *''

Bryobium diaphanum ''Bryobium'', commonly known as urchin orchids or 藓兰属 (xian lan shu), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic or lithophytic plants with large, fleshy pseudobulbs, each with up to three ...

'' *''

Bryobium dischorense ''Bryobium dischorense'', commonly known as the spotted urchin orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic clump-forming orchid that has fleshy, oval pseudobulbs, each with a single thin leaf and between four and eight cup-shaped, cream-coloured or w ...

'' *''

Bryobium eriaeoides ''Bryobium eriaeoides'', commonly known as the brittle urchin orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic clump-forming orchid that has fleshy, green pseudobulbs, each with two leaves and between three and twelve cup-shaped white to purplish flowers b ...

'' *'' Bryobium hyacinthoides'' *'' Bryobium irukandjianum'' *'' Bryobium kawengicum'' *'' Bryobium lancifolium'' *'' Bryobium lanuginosum'' *'' Bryobium leavittii'' *'' Bryobium montanum'' *'' Bryobium moultonii'' *''

Bryobium pudicum ''Bryobium'', commonly known as urchin orchids or 藓兰属 (xian lan shu), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic or lithophytic plants with large, fleshy pseudobulbs, each with up to three ...

'' *'' Bryobium puguahaanense'' *'' Bryobium pullum'' *'' Bryobium punctatum'' *'' Bryobium queenslandicum'' *'' Bryobium rendovaense'' *'' Bryobium retusum'' *'' Bryobium rhizophoreti'' *'' Bryobium rubiferum'' *'' Bryobium senile'' *'' Bryobium subclausum'' *'' Bryobium tridens'' *'' Bryobium ventricosum''

Distribution and habitat

Orchids in the genus ''Bryobium'' grow on the upper parts of rainforest trees or on rocks and boulders. They occur in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

Peninsula Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

Christmas island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3283615 Podochileae genera