genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of leafless
neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In biogeogra ...
orchids
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. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...
(family
Orchidaceae
Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...
) native to
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
, the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, and
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families /ref> The name is from Greek δένδρον ("tree") and φύλαξ ("guard; keeper"). One species, ''
Dendrophylax lindenii
''Dendrophylax lindenii'', the ghost orchid (a common name also used for '' Epipogium aphyllum'') is a rare perennial epiphyte from the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It is native to Florida and Cuba. Other common names include palm polly and whi ...
'', featured heavily in the book ''
The Orchid Thief
''The Orchid Thief'' is a 1998 non-fiction book by American journalist Susan Orlean, based on her investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids in the Fakah ...
''.
Biology
The plants of this genus are unusual in that they consist of masses of photosynthetic roots anchored in trees with a highly reduced stem and ephemeral leaves which have been reduced to scales. The bulk of these plants consists only of flat, cord-like, green
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...
s with distinctive "track marks". These white track marks are called '' pneumatodes'' and function in much the same manner as
stomata
In botany, a stoma (: stomata, from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth"), also called a stomate (: stomates), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange between the internal air spa ...
allowing the photosynthetic roots to perform gas exchange to support
photosynthesis
Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...
.
Phylogeny
Members of this genus are distant relatives of the African and Indian Ocean genus ''
Angraecum
''Angraecum'', also known as comet orchid, is a genus of the family Orchidaceae native to tropical and South Africa, as well as Sri Lanka. It contains 223 species.
Etymology
Despite the genus's distribution being largely confined to Africa and i ...
''; it seems that orchid seed, blowing like dust, crossed the Atlantic at least once and successfully colonized new habitat. Current evidence derived from molecular studies indicates that the original arrival from Africa which spawned this genus and the related genus ''Harriselia'' was a member of the subtribe Angraecineae with small leaves and flowers and a monopodial growth habit, and the leafless habit developed in parallel in both Africa and the Caribbean, since the genes are present in all members of the subtribe Angraecineae and the leafless habit is common in several genera within the
Vandeae
The Vandeae is a large monophyletic tribe within the family of orchids.
Scope
This tribe contains 1,700 - 2,000 species in more than 150 genera.
Epiphytic
These orchids are pantropical epiphytes and occur in tropical Asia, the Pacific Islands ...
Dendrophylax lindenii
''Dendrophylax lindenii'', the ghost orchid (a common name also used for '' Epipogium aphyllum'') is a rare perennial epiphyte from the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It is native to Florida and Cuba. Other common names include palm polly and whi ...
'' produce large, showy, white flowers which are highly fragrant and described as smelling fruity and reminiscent of an apple. Most members of this genus are pollinated by various species of moths with very long probosces and the flowers of most species within this genus possess very long nectar spurs ranging from 4 to 8 inches in length on average. The giant sphinx moth is known to pollinate several species within this genus.
'' Dendrophylax funalis'' is more commonly and easily cultivated than other members of the genus and the plants tend to get very large and robust in both habitat and cultivation. Other members of this genus are very difficult subjects in cultivation such as ''
Dendrophylax lindenii
''Dendrophylax lindenii'', the ghost orchid (a common name also used for '' Epipogium aphyllum'') is a rare perennial epiphyte from the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It is native to Florida and Cuba. Other common names include palm polly and whi ...
'', and some members of this genus defy cultivation or are of little interest to orchid enthusiasts because they produce very small flowers.Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids
Species
Species accepted as of June 2014:
# '' Dendrophylax alcoa'' - Dominican Republic
# ''
Dendrophylax barrettiae
''Dendrophylax'' is a genus of leafless neotropical orchids (family Orchidaceae) native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and Florida. The name is from Greek δένδρον ("tree") and φύλαξ ("guard; keeper"). One species, ''De ...
Dendrophylax lindenii
''Dendrophylax lindenii'', the ghost orchid (a common name also used for '' Epipogium aphyllum'') is a rare perennial epiphyte from the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It is native to Florida and Cuba. Other common names include palm polly and whi ...