''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually

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, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to three leaves, whilst others have several leaves in two ranks. A large number of small, white or greenish yellow flowers are borne on a thin, arching flowering stem. There are about thirty species, distributed from tropical and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

Asia to the southwest Pacific.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Thelasis'' are mostly epiphytic or lithophytic, rarely terrestrial sympodial

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 thin roots. They often have small pseudobulbs with up to three leaves but sometimes have flattened stems with several leaves in two ranks. Many small white or greenish yellow flowers are crowded on a thin arching flowering stem. The flowers are

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

, tube-shaped near the base with 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 free from and similar to each other although with the petals usually shorter and narrower. The labellum is stiffly attached to the base of 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 lacks lobes.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Thelasis'' was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume who published the description in ''Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië ''. The name ''Thelasis'' is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''thelazo'' meaning "suckle" or "nurse", possibly referring to a small nipple-like structure on the column.

Species list

The following is a list of species of ''Thelasis'' accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as at January 2019: * ''

Thelasis abbreviata ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' (Schltr.) W.Kittr. - New Guinea * ''

Thelasis angustifolia ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

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

Thelasis bifolia ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Hook.f. - Assam * ''

Thelasis borneensis ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Schltr. - Borneo * ''

Thelasis capitata ''Thelasis capitata'', commonly known as the conical fly orchid, is a plant in the orchid family. It is a clump-forming epiphyte with flattened pseudobulbs, each with a single strap-shaped leaf. A large number of small yellowish green flowers ar ...

'' Blume - conical fly orchid, Christmas Island, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines * ''

Thelasis carinata ''Thelasis carinata'', commonly known as the triangular fly orchid, is a plant in the orchid family. It is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte that lacks pseudobulbs. There are groups of between two and six erect, flattened stems each with up ...

'' Blume - triangular fly orchid, Queensland, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa * ''

Thelasis carnosa ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Ames & C.Schweinf. in O.Ames - Sabah * ''

Thelasis cebolleta ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' J.J.Sm. - Borneo * ''

Thelasis celebica ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely Terrestrial plant, terrestrials. Some species have pseudo ...

'' Schltr. - Sulawesi * ''

Thelasis compacta ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Schltr. - New Guinea * '' Thelasis copelandii'' Kraenzl. in H.G.A.Engler - New Guinea * ''

Thelasis cycloglossa ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to ...

'' Schltr. - New Guinea * ''

Thelasis edelfeldtii ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Kraenzl. in H.G.A.Engler - New Guinea * '' Thelasis gautierensis'' J.J.Sm. - New Guinea * '' Thelasis globiceps'' J.J.Sm. - New Guinea * ''

Thelasis javanica ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to ...

'' J.J.Sm. - Java * ''

Thelasis khasiana ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Hook.f. - Yunnan, Assam, Thailand, Vietnam * ''

Thelasis longifolia ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Hook.f. - Nepal, India, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam * ''

Thelasis macrobulbon ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Ridl - Malaysia, Borneo * ''

Thelasis mamberamensis ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to ...

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

Thelasis micrantha ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' (Brongn.) J.J.Sm. - Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea * ''

Thelasis obtusa ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Blume - Bali, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Philippines * ''

Thelasis perpusilla ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to ...

'' (C.S.P.Parish & Rchb.f.) Schuit. – Indochina * '' Thelasis pygmaea'' (Griff.) Lindl. - Hainan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Yunnan Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Bhutan, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Bismarck Islands, Solomon Islands * ''

Thelasis rhomboglossa ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' (Schltr.) Kraenzl. in H.G.A.Engler - Sumatra * ''

Thelasis succosa ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' Carr - Malaysia * ''

Thelasis variabilis ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to ...

'' Ames & C.Schweinf. in O.Ames - Sabah, Sarawak * ''

Thelasis wariana ''Thelasis'', commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to t ...

'' (Schltr.) Schuit. & de Vogel - New Guinea

Distribution

Orchids in the genus ''Thelasis'' are found in

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 ...

, Taiwan, the Indian Subcontinent, the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

, Cambodia,

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

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 ...

, the

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian s ...

, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Java, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

, Peninsular Malaysia, the Maluku Islands, the Philippines,

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

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 ...

, Christmas Island, the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,

Queensland (Australia) ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and Samoa.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1306625 Podochileae genera

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Species list

Distribution

See also

References