''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

) belonging to the subfamily

Vanilloideae Vanilloideae is one of the subfamilies of orchids belonging to the large family Orchidaceae. Lindley (1836) and Garay (1986)Garay,L. (1986), Olim Vanillaceae. Botanical Museum Leaflets. Harvard University 30 : 233-237. treated it as a separate f ...

.Loureiro, João de. 1790. Flora Cochinchinensis 2: 520
/ref> All species in this genus are

myco-heterotrophic Myco-heterotrophy (from Greek μύκης , "fungus", ἕτερος ', "another", "different" and τροφή ', "nutrition") is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food fro ...

, i.e. they are

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

upon

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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 ...

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 ...

) as well as Madagascar and

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> ''Galeola'' is of biological interest because of its exclusive myco-heterotrophic nature and its seeds. The seeds are the biggest orchid seeds in the world. They are winged, which is also extraordinary for an orchid.

Species

At present, there are 6 currently recognized species: *''

Galeola cathcarthii ''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae. All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to ...

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

(

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

) *''

Galeola faberi ''Galeola faberi'' is an orchid species in the genus ''Galeola'' found in central and southern China, as well as in Nepal, the eastern Himalayas, Vietnam and Sumatra. The phenolic compounds p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4,4'-dihydroxy-diphenyl methan ...

'' Rolfe (

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

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 ...

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 ...

) *''

Galeola falconeri ''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae. All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to ...

'' Hook.f. (

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

) *''

Galeola humblotii ''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae. All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to ...

'' H.G.Reichb. (

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

) *''

Galeola lindleyana ''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae. All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to ...

'' (Hook.f. & J.W.Thomson) H.G.Reichb. (

) *''

Galeola nudifolia ''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae. All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to ...

'' Lour. (1790) (

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

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

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 ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

)

References

External links

* * Vanilloideae genera Vanilleae Myco-heterotrophic orchids {{Vanilloideae-stub