''Hemipilia trifurcata'' is a
species of
flowering plant in the orchid family
Orchidaceae. It is
endemic to south-central China (north-western
Yunnan).
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1982 as ''Amitostigma trifurcatum''.
[ A ]molecular phylogenetic
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 ...
study in 2014 found that species of ''Amitostigma'', ''Neottianthe'' and ''Ponerorchis'' were mixed together in a single clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
, making none of the three genera monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
as then circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every polyg ...
. ''Amitostigma'' and ''Neottianthe'' were subsumed into ''Ponerorchis'', with this species then becoming ''Ponerorchis trifurcata''.[ The genus ''Ponerorchis'' has since been synonymized with the genus ''Hemipilia'', resulting in the present name.
]
References
trifurcata
Orchids of Yunnan
Plants described in 1982
{{Orchidoideae-stub