genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
in the orchid family (
Orchidaceae
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 flowerin ...
), occurring mainly in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
, and
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families /ref> The name is from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
ὄρχις ''orchis'', meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids.Alberta Native Plant Council
Description
These terrestrial orchids have root tubers instead of pseudobulbs. They are extremely diverse in appearance. They produce an erect
stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
. The
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 forme ...
is a cylindrical to globular spike, long, with yellow, red to purple
flowers
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
. They start flowering at the base, slowly progressing upwards, except for the Monkey orchid (''
Orchis simia
''Orchis simia'', commonly known as the monkey orchid, is a greyish pink to reddish species of the genus ''Orchis''. It gets its common name from its lobed Labellum (botany), lip which mimics the general shape of a monkey's body.
The range of th ...
''), which flowers in reverse order.
The original genus ''Orchis'' used to contain more than 1,300 names. Since it was
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...
, it has been divided by Pridgeon et al., into several new genera (see Reference): ''
Ponerorchis
''Ponerorchis'' is a genus of Asian terrestrial tuberous orchids (family Orchidaceae). It is native to temperate Eurasia, from Poland to Japan, to the north of the Indian subcontinent and to northern Indochina.
They can be found in evergreen for ...
'', ''
Schizodium
''Disa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. It comprises about 182 species. Most of the species are indigenous to tropical and southern Africa, with a few more in the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar, and Réunion.Hans Peter ...
'', '' Steveniella''. They can be found in tropical Rainforest and semi-desert regions, near the seashore and in the tundra. The majority of neotropical orchid species can be found in southern Central America, northwest South America
Taxonomy
Species
, the
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected pla ...
accepts 21 species, along with a number of subspecies:
* '' Orchis adenocheila'' Czerniak. (Iran)
* '' Orchis anatolica'' Boiss. – Anatolian orchid (Cyprus, Turkey, Southern Aegean Islands, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iran)
* '' Orchis anthropophora'' (L.) All. (Western Europe to Mediterranean)
* '' Orchis brancifortii'' Biv. (Southern Italy, Sicilia, Sardinia)
* '' Orchis galilaea'' (Bornm. & M.Schulze) Schltr. (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine)
* '' Orchis italica'' Poir. – Man orchid, Italian orchid (Mediterranean)
* '' Orchis mascula'' (L.) L. – Early purple orchid, (N. & C. Europe to Iran, Canary Islands)
** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''ichnusae'' Corrias
** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''laxifloriformis'' Rivas Goday & B.Rodr.
** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''mascula''
** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''scopulorum'' (Summerh.) H.Sund. ex H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr.
** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''speciosa'' (Mutel) Hegi
* ''
Orchis militaris
''Orchis militaris'', the military orchid, is a species of orchid native to Europe. It is the type species of the genus ''Orchis''.
Description
This plant grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm with a robust stem with rather drawn up oblong ...
'' L. – Military orchid (Europe to Mongolia)
** ''Orchis militaris'' subsp. ''militaris''
** ''Orchis militaris'' subsp. ''stevenii'' (Rchb.f.) B.Baumann & al.
* '' Orchis olbiensis'' Reut. ex Gren. (NW. Italy - to NW. Africa)
* '' Orchis pallens'' L. – Pale-flowered orchid (Europe to Caucasus)
* '' Orchis patens'' Desf. (Central Mediterranean to NW. Africa)
** ''Orchis patens'' subsp. ''canariensis'' (Lindl.) Asch. & Graebn.
** ''Orchis patens'' subsp. ''patens''
* '' Orchis pauciflora'' Ten. (Albania, Corsica, Greece, Italy, Crete and Yugoslavia)
* '' Orchis provincialis'' Balb. ex Lam. & DC. (SC. & S. Europe to Caucasus, NW Africa)
* '' Orchis punctulata'' Steven ex Lindl. – Small-dotted orchid (SE. Europe to W. Asia)
* '' Orchis purpurea'' Huds. – Lady orchid, purple orchid (Europe to Caucasus, Algeria)
** ''Orchis purpurea'' subsp. ''caucasica'' (Regel) B.Baumann & al.
** ''Orchis purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea''
* '' Orchis quadripunctata'' Cirillo ex Ten. – Four-spotted orchid (Sardinia to Eastern Mediterranean)
* ''
Orchis simia
''Orchis simia'', commonly known as the monkey orchid, is a greyish pink to reddish species of the genus ''Orchis''. It gets its common name from its lobed Labellum (botany), lip which mimics the general shape of a monkey's body.
The range of th ...
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected pla ...
* ''Orchiophrys'' (''Ophrys'' x ''Orchis'')
* ''Orchiserapias'' (''Orchis'' x ''Serapias'')
See also
*
Salep
Salep, also spelled sahlep or sahlab,( tr, salep, sahlep; fa, ثعلب, ; ar, سحلب, ; al, salep; az, səhləb; he, סַחְלָבּ, ; el, σαλέπι, ; Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Bosnian: салеп, ''salep'') is a flour ma ...
*
List of taxa named after human genitals
This a list of species, genera, and other taxa named after human genitals.
Plants
Families
* Orchidaceae. The type genus is ''Orchis'', whose name comes from the Ancient Greek ('), literally meaning "testicle", because of the shape ...