''Orthochilus'' is a genus of

orchid 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 ...

s that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French botanist

Achille Richard Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852). Biography Achille was the son of the botanist Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a pharmacist in the Frenc ...

, who cited an earlier suggestion by the German botanist

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (16 February 1787 – 20 February 1860) was a German botanist and Protestant minister. Biography Hochstetter was born in Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand Hoc ...

. Richard recognized a single species, ''

Orthochilus abyssinicus ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'', and noted that the genus shared many features with the closely related genus ''

Eulophia ''Eulophia'', commonly known as corduroy orchids, is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Most ''Eulophia'' orchids are terrestrial but some are deciduous while others are evergreen. They ei ...

'', but differed from it in the form of the pollen masses and caudicule, a stalk to which the pollen masses are attached. The genus ''Orthochilus'' has often been viewed as a synonym of the larger genus ''Eulophia'' by many botanists, but a recent

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

published in 2014 revealed that ''Eulophia'', as traditionally circumscribed, was

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

unless ''Orthochilus'' was recognized as a separate genus.Martos, F., S.D. Johnson, C.I. Peter, and B. Bytebier. 2014
A molecular phylogeny reveals paraphyly of the large genus ''Eulophia'' (Orchidaceae): A case for the reinstatement of ''Orthochilus''.
''Taxon'' 63(1): 9-23.Richard, A. 1850
Tentamen Floræ Abyssinicæ seu Enumeratio Plantarum hucusque in plerisque Abyssiniæ provinciis detectarum et præcipue a beatis doctoribus.
Volume 2. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. p. 284. As circumscribed by Martos ''et al.'', the genus ''Orthochilus'' includes many species formerly recognized as belonging to the large genus ''Eulophia'' and the smaller genus ''Pteroglossaspis''. The species in ''Orthochilus'' can be readily identified as different from ''Eulophia'' in that their petals and sepals are similar in appearance (shape, size, and color) and the flowers are roughly bell-shaped (

campanulate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

), whereas most ''Eulophia'' have sepals and petals that differ in appearance. Further study of other species currently assigned to ''Eulophia'' may increase the total number of species recognized within the ''Orthochilus'' clade.

Species

*''

'' (Rchb.f.) Hochst. ex A.Rich. *'' Orthochilus aculeatus'' (L.f.) Bytebier **''Orthochilus aculeatus'' subsp. ''huttonii'' (Rolfe) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus adenoglossus'' (Lindl.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus albobrunneus'' (Kraenzl.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus aurantiacus'' (Rolfe) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus carsonii'' (Rolfe) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus chloranthus ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Schltr.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus clandestinus'' (Börge Pett.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus corymbosus'' (G.Will.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus distans'' (Summerh.) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus ecristatus ''Orthochilus ecristatus'', or giant orchid, is a terrestrial species of orchid native to Cuba and to the southeastern United States (from Louisiana to North Carolina). It was previously known as ''Eulophia ecristata'' or ''Pteroglossaspis ecrist ...

'' (Fernald) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus ensatus'' (Lindl.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus euanthus'' (Schltr.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus eustachyus'' (Rchb.f.) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus foliosus ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Lindl.) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus holubii ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Rolfe) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus leontoglossus ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Rchb.f.) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus litoralis ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Schltr.) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus mechowii ''Orthochilus mechowii'' is a species of orchid. It occurs from Nigeria to Western Ethiopia and South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south b ...

'' Rchb.f *''

Orthochilus milnei ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Rchb.f.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus montis-elgonis'' (Summerh.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus nuttii'' (Rolfe) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus odontoglossus'' (Rchb.f.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus pottsii'' (P.M.Br. & DeAngelis) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus rarus'' (Schltr.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus rutenbergianus'' (Kraenzl.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus ruwenzoriensis'' (Rendle) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus subulatus'' (Rendle) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus tabularis'' (L.f.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus thomsonii'' (Rolfe) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus trilamellatus'' (De Wild.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus vinosus'' (McMurtry & G.McDonald) Bytebier *''

Orthochilus walleri ''Orthochilus'' is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French bot ...

'' (Rchb.f.) Bytebier *'' Orthochilus welwitschii'' Rchb.f.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20720036 Eulophiinae Cymbidieae genera