''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial

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 a

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

-like

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

and a loose rosette of leaves. Small, white, hairy flowers develop as the leaves wither. They are found in tropical Africa, southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, New Guinea and

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 ''Cheirostylis'' are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a creeping, caterpillar-like, above-ground

anchored to the ground by fine white root hairs. The leaves are thinly textured and arranged in a loose rosette with a short petiole but are usually withered by flowering time. The flowers are

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

and usually small, white and hairy with the dorsal sepal and lateral sepals fused for about half their length. 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 but are narrower than the sepals. The tip of the labellum has two lobes and a narrow base forming a shallow depression containing two calli.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Cheirostylis'' was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume and the description was published in ''Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië''. The first species of ''Cheirostylis'' described by Blume was '' C. montana'', making it the type species.

Distribution

''Cheirostylis'' orchids occur in tropical Africa through tropical Asia from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to New Guinea and some

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. Seventeen species, eight of which are endemic 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 ...

and two species are endemic to Australia.

List of species

The following is a list of species recognised by the '' World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' as at August 2018: * '' Cheirostylis acuminata'' Blume (2016) * '' Cheirostylis bidentata'' J.J.Sm. (1928) * '' Cheirostylis bipunctata'' Aver. (1996) * ''

Cheirostylis calcarata ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome a ...

'' X.H.Jin & S.C.Chen (2007) * '' Cheirostylis celebensis'' P.O'Byrne & J.J.Verm. (2006) * ''

Cheirostylis chinensis ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome and ...

'' Rolfe (1895) * ''

Cheirostylis clibborndyeri ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome a ...

'' S.Y.Hu & Baretto (1976) * '' Cheirostylis cochinchinensis'' Blume (1859) * '' Cheirostylis cristata'' Aver. (2010) * '' Cheirostylis dendrophila'' Schltr. (1911) * '' Cheirostylis divina'' (Guinea) Summerh. (1953) * '' Cheirostylis filipetala'' Aver. (2003) * '' Cheirostylis flabellata'' (A.Rich.) Wight (1851) * '' Cheirostylis foliosa'' Aver. (2007) * '' Cheirostylis glandulifera'' Aver. (2014) * '' Cheirostylis glandulosa'' (Aver.) J.M.H.Shaw (2015) * '' Cheirostylis goldschmidtiana'' Schltr. (1915) * '' Cheirostylis grandiflora'' Blume (1859) * ''

Cheirostylis griffithii ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome a ...

'' Lindl. (1857) * '' Cheirostylis gunnarii'' A.N.Rao (1998) * '' Cheirostylis jamesleungii'' S.Y.Hu & Barretto (1976) * '' Cheirostylis javanica'' J.J.Sm. (1913) * '' Cheirostylis kabaenae'' Ormerod (2008) * '' Cheirostylis latipetala'' Aver. & Averyanova (2006) * '' Cheirostylis lepida'' (Rchb.f.) Rolfe (1897) * '' Cheirostylis liukiuensis'' Masam. (1930) * '' Cheirostylis malipoensis'' X.H.Jin & S.C.Chen (2007) * '' Cheirostylis marmorifolia'' Aver. (2000) * '' Cheirostylis merrillii'' (Ames & Quisumb.) Ormerod (1998) * '' Cheirostylis moniliformis'' (Griff.) Seidenf. (1978) * ''

Cheirostylis montana ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome and ...

'' Blume (1825) * ''

Cheirostylis monteiroi ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome a ...

'' S.Y.Hu & Barretto (1976) * '' Cheirostylis nantouensis'' T.P.Lin (2017) * '' Cheirostylis notialis'' D.L.Jones (1997) – southern fleshy jewel orchid * '' Cheirostylis nuda'' (Thouars) Ormerod (2002) * '' Cheirostylis octodactyla'' Ames (1907) * '' Cheirostylis orobanchoides'' (F.Muell.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. (1998) * '' Cheirostylis ovata'' (F.M.Bailey) Schltr. (1911) – banded fleshy jewel orchid * '' Cheirostylis pabongensis'' Lucksom (1997) * '' Cheirostylis parvifolia'' Lindl. (1839) * '' Cheirostylis pingbianensis'' K.Y.Lang (1996) * '' Cheirostylis pubescens'' E.C.Parish & Rchb.f. (1874) * '' Cheirostylis pusilla'' Lindl. (1840) * '' Cheirostylis raymundii'' Schltr. (1915) * '' Cheirostylis rubrifolius'' T.P.Lin & W.M.Lin (2009) * '' Cheirostylis serpens'' Aver. (2005) * '' Cheirostylis sessanica'' A.N.Rao (1988) * '' Cheirostylis sherriffii'' N.Pearce & P.J.Cribb (1999) * '' Cheirostylis spathulata'' J.J.Sm. (1927) * '' Cheirostylis tabiyahanensis'' (Hayata) N.Pearce & P.J.Cribb (1999) * ''

Cheirostylis takeoi ''Cheirostylis'', commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome a ...

'' (Hayata) Schltr. (1919) * '' Cheirostylis thailandica'' Seidenf. (1978) * '' Cheirostylis thanmoiensis'' (Gagnep.) Ormerod (2002) * '' Cheirostylis tippica'' A.N.Rao (1991) * '' Cheirostylis tortilacinia'' C.S.Leou (1990) * '' Cheirostylis yunnanensis'' Rolfe (1896)

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from= Q134018 Cranichideae genera