Neottieae is an orchid tribe in the subfamily
Epidendroideae. It contains six genera and over 200 species distributed mainly in temperate and subtropical zones of the northern hemisphere.
All its members are terrestrial plants, hinting at an early branching with Epidendroideae which is largely an epiphytic group. Neottieae is likely to be the result of a single temperate radiation of epidendroids, although it appears that some lineages in this tribe have crept back into the tropics.
The genus ''
Thaia'' had been tentatively included in this tribe, but is now placed in the tribe
Thaieae
''Thaia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. The sole species is ''Thaia saprophytica'', native to Laos and Thailand.Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (2006). Epidendroideae (Pa ...
.
Palmorchis is sister to the other genera and was moved here from Palmorchideae based on molecular evidence. It is the only group in this tribe that occurs in Central and South America and is morphologically isolated.
Etymology
The name of this tribe was taken from one of its genera: ''
Neottia''
Guett. (1754). This name refers to the particular shape of the tangled mass of roots of plants in this genus, forming what looks like a bird's “nest”. In Greek "neottia" means "nest". The name ''Neottia'' was introduced in the botanical nomenclature by the French naturalist and geologist Jean-Étienne Guettard (1715 - 1786) in 1754; while the name for the tribe was proposed by the English botanist
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 ...
(1799 - 1865) in the publication "Orchidearum Sceletos" of 1826.
Description
Plants of this tribe are terrestrial orchids with approximately 85 temperate species.
In addition, some of these plants are
mycoheterotrophic, i.e. no longer reliant on chlorophyll (genus
Neottia and
Limodorum
''Limodorum'' is a genus of myco-heterotrophic orchids. All species are temperate terrestrial plants and occur across much of Europe, North-West Africa, the Mediterranean Islands, and as far east as Iran. Plants have evolved away from photosynth ...
). Mycoheterotrophy is common and has independently evolved at least three times in this group.
The height varies from a few centimeters up to about 100 cm (genus
Epipactis). The prevalent biological form of the tribe is
rhizome geophyte, they are herbaceous perennials with underground buds. The temperate species remain dormant underground when conditions are too cold.
See also
*
Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae
The taxonomy of the Orchidaceae (orchid family) has evolved slowly during the last 250 years, starting with Carl Linnaeus who in 1753 recognized eight genera.Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné). 1753. ''Species Plantarum'', 1st edition, vol. 2, pag ...
References
* Content in this page translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at
:it:Neottieae.
External links
Epidendroideae tribes
{{Epidendroideae-stub