Vanilloideae is one of the subfamilies of orchids belonging to the large 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 ...

. Lindley (1836) and Garay (1986)Garay,L. (1986), Olim Vanillaceae. Botanical Museum Leaflets. Harvard University 30 : 233-237. treated it as a separate family, Vanillaceae. But their single, incumbent

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 ...

and poorly organised

pollinia 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 ...

led to their recognition as at best a subgroup of monandrous orchids. From a molecular point of view, this

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English ter ...

is rather a sister to subfamily Epidendroideae and subfamily

Orchidoideae The Orchidoideae, or the orchidoid orchids, are a subfamily of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) that contains around 3630 species. Species typically have a single ( monandrous), fertile anther which is erect and basitonic. Description The subf ...

in the Orchidaceae, and thus it is today also considered a subfamily. The subfamily Vanilloideae consists of 15 genera and about 180 species, belonging to the tribes Pogonieae and Vanilleae. Their distribution is pantropical, throughout Asia, Australia and the Americas. The species in the tribe Pogonieae have a characteristic laciniate lip margin. The color of their

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s and

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s is pink or rarely white or bluish. Their sepals have an oblong, elliptic, or narrowly lanceolate form. The species in the tribe Vanilleae are long plants characterized by long, thick, succulent

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s and a lip without spur.

Classification

Tribe Pogonieae (77 species) * Genera : ''

Cleistes ''Cleistes'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae). It contains approximately 40–50 species, most of them native to South America, with a few species extending north into Costa Rica and Trinidad. Two North American species were former ...

'', ''

Cleistesiopsis ''Cleistesiopsis'' is an orchid genus in the tribe Pogonieae. Its members were included in ''Cleistes'' until 2009. ''Cleistesiopsis'' is native to the eastern and southeastern United States from New Jersey south to Florida, and west to Kentu ...

'', '' Duckeella'', ''

Isotria ''Isotria'' (fiveleaf orchid) is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Species The genus has two known species, both native to eastern North America. * '' Isotria medeoloides'' — eastern North America from New ...

'', and '' Pogonia'' Tribe Vanilleae (172 species) * Genera : '' Clematepistephium'', '' Cyrtosia'', '' Epistephium'', ''

Eriaxis ''Eriaxis'' is a monotypic genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae. The sole species is ''Eriaxis rigida'', endemic to New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small isla ...

'', '' Erythrorchis'', '' Galeola'', '' Lecanorchis'', '' Pseudovanilla'' and ''Vanilla''.

References

* Pridgeon, Alec M.; Cribb, Phillip J.; Chase, Mark.W; Rasmussen, Finn.N - ''Genera Orchidacearum: Orchidoideae Vanilloideae'' - Oxford University Press 2003 - {{taxonbar, from=Q133360 Asparagales subfamilies