Orchid Information - Family Orchidaceae Subfamily Epidendroideae Tribe Neottieae

Neottieae Lindl., Orchid. Select. 7 (1826) 9. Type genus: Neottia Guett.

Synonyms:

• Listerinae Lindl. ex Meisn., Pl. Vasc. Gen., tab. diagn. (1842) 385.
• Limodorinae Benth., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. (1881) 18 288. Type genus: Limodorum Boehm.
• Palmorchideae Dressler, Selbyana, 5 (1979) 205. Type genus: Palmorchis Barb.Rodr.

Terrestrials, sometimes mycoheterotrophs, herbaceous. Roots in clusters, coralloid, fleshy, without velamen. Stem sometimes tough and reed­like. Leaves (when present) spiral, sometimes subdistich scattered along the stem, convolute, plicate, not articulate. Inflorescence unbranched, terminal, sometimes lateral, racemose, with few to many spirally arraged flowers. Flowers resupinate. Sepals and petals free. Lip free or sometimes partially united with the column along the midline, often divided into a hypochile and epichile; midlobe often hinged to a more or less saccate base or spur, sometimes with a shallow, superficial nectary; disc often with keels or lamellae. Column foot present or absent; anther in front tilted downward, suberect or terminal and incumbent, extending beyond or subequal to the rostellum; stigma entire, in Thaia (not in New Guinea) with a strongly recurved, tongue-like appendage connate to the column; rostellum poorly developed in autogamous species of Epipactis (not in New Guinea), sometimes sensitive and extruding a drop of adhesive when touched; pollinia 2 or 4, soft and mealy, pollen grains shed as monads or tetrads; viscidium indistinct or absent. Fruit a capsule, fleshy in Palmorchis (not in New Guinea).
(after Wood 2005)

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