''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-shaped leaves in two ranks and large numbers of small green flowers on an unbranched flowering stem. There are about fifteen species found from the eastern Himalayas to the south-west Pacific.

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Saccolabiopsis'' are epiphytic, monopodial

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 short stems and many smooth thin roots. The leaves are arranged in two ranks, oblong to lance-shaped, uncrowded and sometimes appear fan-like. A large number of small, uncrowded, mainly greenish, fragrant flowers are arranged on an unbranched flowering stem. The sepals and

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 narrow, and the labellum is stiffly attached to the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

and has a deep cylindrical spur or pouch.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Saccolabiopsis'' was first formally described in 1918 by Johannes Jacobus Smith and the description was published in ''Bulletin du Jardin botanique de Buitenzorg''. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

species is ''

Saccolabiopsis bakhuizenii ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid Family (biology), family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblon ...

''. The name ''Saccolabiopsis'' is a reference to the similarity of these orchids to those in the genus ''

Saccolabium ''Saccolabium'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to India and Indonesia. In the past, over 350 names have been published for species, subspecies and varieties within the genus, but the vast majority ...

''. The ending ''-opsis'' is an Ancient Greek

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

meaning "having the appearance of" or "like". Species list: The following is a list of species of ''Saccolabiopsis'' accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

as at February 2022: * ''

Saccolabiopsis alata ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' J.J.Sm. - New Guinea * ''

Saccolabiopsis armitii ''Saccolabiopsis armitii'', commonly known as the spotted pitcher orchid, is an epiphytic orchid from the family Orchidaceae. It has a short stem, coarse, wiry roots, between three and six crowded, curved leaves and up to fifty yellowish green ...

'' (F.Muell.) Dockrill - New Guinea, Queensland * ''

'' J.J.Sm. - Java, Sumatra * ''

Saccolabiopsis gillespiei ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' (L.O.Williams) Garay - Fiji * ''

Saccolabiopsis microphyton ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' (Schltr.) J.J.Sm - Bismarck Islands * ''

Saccolabiopsis pallida ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' (Schltr.) J.J.Sm - New Guinea * ''

Saccolabiopsis papuana ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' J.J.Sm. - New Guinea * ''

Saccolabiopsis pumila ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' Garay - New Guinea * ''

Saccolabiopsis pusilla ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' (Lindl.) Seidenf. & Garay - Himalayas, Thailand, Myanmar, Assam, Bhutan, Bangladesh * ''

Saccolabiopsis rara ''Saccolabiopsis'', commonly known as pitcher orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with short, fibrous stems, smooth, thin roots, a few thin, oblong to lance-sha ...

'' (Schltr.) J.J.Sm. - New Guinea, Solomons * ''

Saccolabiopsis rectifolia ''Saccolabiopsis rectifolia'', commonly known as the tiny pitcher orchid, is an epiphytic orchid from the family Orchidaceae. It has a short stem, thin roots, between three and six crowded leaves and up to fifteen cup-shaped green flowers with ...

'' (Dockrill) Garay - Queensland * '' Saccolabiopsis selebica'' J.J.Sm. - Sulawesi * '' Saccolabiopsis tenella'' (Ames) Garay - Philippines * '' Saccolabiopsis viridiflora'' Aver. - Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam

Distribution

Species of ''Saccolabiopsis'' are found in the eastern Himalayas, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malesia, Papuasia,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and Queensland, Australia where two species are endemic.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3283232 Vandeae genera Aeridinae

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution

See also

References