Zygopetalinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe

Cymbidieae The Cymbidieae is a tribe of plants within the family Orchidaceae. 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 reco ...

with 418 species.

Description

Orchids in Zygopetalinae are mostly

epiphytic 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 ...

but can be terrestrial, with

pseudobulb The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and ...

s of one or several internodes or slender stems. All genera but one are

sympodial Sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, also referred to a ...

. Leaves are convolute or duplicate, plicate, and articulate, with a smooth cuticle.

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s of one to several spiral flowers rise from young shoots laterally. Flowers vary in size and can be

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 " ...

Columns 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. ...

can be winged or flattened and usually have a distinct foot. The

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

can be either terminal or ventral, with an operculum.

Velamen Velamen or velamen radicum is a spongy, multiple epidermis that covers the roots of some epiphytic or semi-epiphytic plants, such as orchid and ''Clivia'' species. The velamen of an orchid is the white or gray covering of aerial roots (when dry, ...

resembles that of the genus ''

Cymbidium ''Cymbidium'' , commonly known as boat orchids, is a genus of evergreen flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic, lithophytic, terrestrial or rarely leafless saprophytic herbs usually with pseudobulbs ...

''. Plants have 46, 48, or 52 chromosomes.

Genera

Genera include:

Distribution and habitat

Species of the subtribe occur throughout the American tropics, from southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in North America to northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

in South America. The northernmost species are of the genera '' Kefersteinia'' and '' Stenotyla'' in North America, and the southernmost in South America are in the genera '' Warrea'' and ''

Zygopetalum ''Zygopetalum'' (abbreviated ''Z.''Alphabetical List of Standard Abbreviations for Natural and Hybrid Generic Names, RHS, 2007. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/orchid-name-abbreviations-list.pdf) is a genus of the orch ...

''. The greatest diversity in genera and species occurs along the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountains. Plants of Zygopetalinae grow from sea level to in altitude. Most plants are adapted to shaded and wet conditions of the lower canopy, in soil or on often moss covered host trees.

Ecology

Members of Zygopetalinae are pollinated by Euglossine bees, most often by perfume-gathering males. Some species of '' Cochleanthes'' are an exception, attracting nectar-seeking bees. Most genera place their

pollinaria A pollinium (plural pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of mil ...

on the bee's head,

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

, or scutellum, though ''

Chaubardiella ''Chaubardiella'' is a genus of flowering plants from the Cymbidieae of the orchid family, Orchidaceae, native to Costa Rica and South America. #'' Chaubardiella dalessandroi'' Dodson & Dalström - Ecuador #'' Chaubardiella delcastilloi'' D.E.Be ...

'' places its pollinaria on the bee's

trochanter A trochanter is a tubercle of the femur near its joint with the hip bone. In humans and most mammals, the trochanters serve as important muscle attachment sites. Humans are known to have three trochanters, though the anatomic "normal" includes ...

s and '' Kefersteinia'' places its pollinaria on the bee's antennae bases.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2529755 Orchid subtribes