''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a

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 n ...

of about 29 species of

orchid 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 flowering ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Orchidaceae. They are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

and

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 ...

plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the flowering stem. The flowers appear in succession near the end of the flowering stem with the

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 coined ...

s and

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 free from each other. The labellum is like a landing platform and has three lobes. They are

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and enterta ...

to areas from

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

to northern Australia.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Bromheadia'' are evergreen, terrestrial or epiphytic,

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 ...

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

with leafy stems on a short, creeping rhizome. The leaves are arranged in two rows along an erect, unbranched stem with the flattened, leathery leaves along the upper two-thirds. The flowers are short-lived and appear singly, in succession near the ends of the flowering stem. The flowers are relatively large,

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 " ...

and usually white, creamy yellow or reddish. The

s are narrower but longer than

s and are often a different colour. The labellum projects forwards and has three lobes with the side lobes erect and there are two

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 mi ...

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Bromheadia'' was first formally described in 1841 by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

and the description was published in ''

Edwards's Botanical Register ''The Botanical Register'', subsequently known as ''Edwards's Botanical Register'', was an illustrated horticultural magazine that ran from 1815 to 1847. It was started by the botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards, who had previously illustrat ...

''. The genus name (''Bromheadia'') honours

Edward Bromhead Sir Edward Thomas ffrench Bromhead, 2nd Baronet FRS FRSE (26 March 1789 – 14 March 1855) was a British landowner and mathematician, best remembered as patron of the mathematician and physicist George Green and mentor of George Boole. Life Born ...

"whose investigations of the natural affinities of plants are well known to systematic Botanists".

Distribution

Orchids in the genus ''Bromheadia'' are found in the region stretching from

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

south to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

and east to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, with a few species extending to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Species

The genus is subdivided into two

sections Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

identified by the clear morphological difference in the shape of the leaves: section ''Bromheadia'' has dorso-ventrally flattened leaves whereas section ''Aporodes'' has laterally-flattened leaves.Kruizinga, J., H.J. van Scheindelen, and E.F. de Vogel. 1997. Revision of the genus ''Bromheadia'' (Orchidaceae). ''Orchid Monographs'', 8: 79-118, figures 29-55, plates 4b-5b. While these two sections represent natural groups with clear morphological support, a 1997

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

study of the relationships within ''Bromheadia'' that used only morphological characters and placed ''

Claderia ''Claderia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Only two species are known, both epiphytes native to southeast Asia and New Guinea. *''Claderia papuana'' Schltr. - New Guinea and possibly the Philippines *''Clad ...

'' as the outgroup concluded that while section ''Aporodes'' was

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

, section ''Bromheadia'' was

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

. To resolve the conflict, the study's authors suggested that section ''Bromheadia'' either absorb section ''Aporodes'' to make one large monophyletic genus with no infrageneric subdivisions or to divide section ''Bromheadia'' into the three monophyletic groups they identified within it so that the genus would have four sections.Repetur, C.P., P.C. van Welzen, and E.F. de Vogel. 1997. Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the genus ''Bromheadia'' (Orchidaceae). ''

Systematic Botany Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...

'', 22(3): 465-477. However, no further taxonomic work has acted on this suggestion so the genus remains with two natural sections: ;Section ''Bromheadia'' *''

Bromheadia alticola ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the floweri ...

'' Ridl. *'' Bromheadia borneensis'' J.J.Sm. **''B. borneensis'' var. ''borneensis'' **''B. borneensis'' var. ''longiflora'' Scheind. & de Vogel *''

Bromheadia crassiflora ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the flowering st ...

'' J.J.Sm. *'' Bromheadia divaricata''

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, ...

& C.Schweinf. *''

Bromheadia finlaysoniana ''Bromheadia finlaysoniana'', commonly known as the pale reed orchid and as ''Bromheadia pulchra'' in Australia, is a plant in the orchid family and is native to areas from Indochina to northern Australia. It is a terrestrial orchid with a tough ...

'' (Lindl.)

Miq. Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (24 October 1811 – 23 January 1871) was a Dutch botanist, whose main focus of study was on the flora of the Dutch East Indies. Early life Miquel was born in Neuenhaus and studied medicine at the University of Gro ...

*''

Bromheadia pendek ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the flowering st ...

'' de Vogel *'' Bromheadia rupestris'' Ridl. ;Section ''Aporodes'' *'' Bromheadia annamensis'' Aver. & Averyanova *'' Bromheadia aporoides'' Rchb.f. *''

Bromheadia benchaii ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the flowering st ...

'' J.J.Wood & A.L.Lamb *''

Bromheadia brevifolia ''Bromheadia brevifolia'' is a small epiphytic orchid species in the genus ''Bromheadia''. It is native to the Malay Peninsula, where it is found in the Malaysian states of Pahang and Perak, and on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian states of ...

'' Ridl. *'' Bromheadia cecieliae'' Kruiz. *'' Bromheadia coomansii'' J.J.Sm. ex Kruiz. & de Vogel *''

Bromheadia devogelii ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the flowering st ...

'' Kruiz. *'' Bromheadia ensifolia'' J.J.Sm. *'' Bromheadia gracilis'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia graminea'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia grandiflora'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia humilis'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia latifolia'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia lohaniensis'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *''

Bromheadia longifolia ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the flowering st ...

'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia pungens'' Ridl. *'' Bromheadia robusta'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia scirpoidea'' Ridl. *'' Bromheadia srilankensis'' Kruiz. & de Vogel *'' Bromheadia tenuis'' J.J.Sm. *'' Bromheadia truncata'' Seidenf. ;Insufficiently known *''

Bromheadia falcifolia ''Bromheadia'', commonly known as reed orchids, is a genus of about 29 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial and epiphytic plants with unbranched stems, the leaves arranged in two rows along the floweri ...

'' Schltr. - all known

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...

specimens were destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1955380 Adrorhizinae Vandeae genera