''Disperis'' 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 ...

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

s in the orchid

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 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 ...

. It has about 78

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

.Mark W. Chase, Kenneth M. Cameron, John V. Freudenstein, Alec M. Pridgeon, Gerardo A. Salazar, Cássio van den Berg, and André Schuiteman. 2015. "An updated classification of Orchidaceae". ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 177(2):151-174. (See ''External links'' below). Most of the species are 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 ...

and southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, as well as

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

s. A few are native to the tropical or the warmer subtropical regions of

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 ...

and

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. ...

Etymology

The genus name ''Disperis'' derives 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 p ...

(), meaning "twice", and (), meaning "bag", "pouch", because of to the pouches formed by the lateral sepals.Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume II. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, D.C.; USA. London, UK. (vol. II).

Range and variation

''Disperis'' consists of two

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betwee ...

, ''Disperis'' and ''Dryorkis''.Hubert Kurzweil and John C. Manning. 2005. "A synopsis of the genus ''Disperis'' Sw. (Orchidaceae)". ''Adansonia'' 27(2):155-207. Subgenus ''Disperis'' has been well sampled in a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study,Richard J. Waterman, Anton Pauw, Timothy G. Barraclough, and Vincent Savolainen. 2009. "Pollinators underestimated: A molecular phylogeny reveals widespread floral convergence in oil-secreting orchids (sub-tribe Coryciinae) of the Cape of South Africa". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 51(1):100-110. . but subgenus ''Dryorkis'' has not. Subgenus ''Disperis'' has about 30 species and is distinguished by an entire lip appendage. Most of its species are from southern Africa. A few are from

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Subgenus ''Dryorkis'' has about 48 species and is distinguished by a 2- lobed lip appendage. It is found throughout tropical Africa as well as Madagascar and nearby islands, and it has one widespread species in tropical Asia.

Pollination

members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The early use of this word is from 19th century. An example of subtribe i ...

Coryciinae Coryciinae is a subtribe of orchids that has been differently defined and placed in the two classification systems that are currently in use for orchids. ''Genera Orchidacearum'', which is currently the definitive work on orchid taxonomy, d ...

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

, ''Disperis'' is pollinated by oil collecting

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s of the genus '' Rediviva''. The oil is

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

on the lip appendage, usually near its apex. ''Disperis'' has

independently evolved Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

floral 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 ...

morphology much like that of Coryciinae

s.s. The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

in order to attract these pollinators.

Relationships

In the ''Genera Orchidacearum'' work, ''Disperis'' has been placed in the subtribe Coryciinae. (See ''External links'' below). However,

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies challenged this taxonomic view. Analysis of the nuclear ribosomal ITS first suggested the

polyphyly 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 ...

of Coryciinae as ''Disperis'' did not branch with ''Corycium'' and ''Pterygodium''.Emmanuel J. P. Douzery, Alec M. Pridgeon, Paul Kores, H. P. Linder, Hubert Kurzweil, and Mark W. Chase. 1999. "Molecular phylogenetics of Diseae (Orchidaceae): a contribution from nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences". ''American Journal of Botany'' 86(6):887-899
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/ref> Moreover, ''Disperis'' appeared more closely

related ''Related'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from October 5, 2005, to March 20, 2006. It revolves around the lives of four close-knit sisters of Italian descent, raised in Brooklyn and living in Manhattan. Th ...

to ''

Brownleea ''Brownleea'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae native to Africa and Madagascar. Eight species are known. #'' Brownleea coerulea'' Harv. ex Lindl. #'' Brownleea galpinii'' Bolus #'' Brownleea graminicola'' McMurt ...

'' than to the subtribe Coryciinae, though this affinity did not receive strong statistical support. In a

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

of orchids that was published in 2015, ''Disperis'' was transferred to the subtribe Brownleeinae. ''Brownleea'' and ''Disperis'' have a similar

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

structure and an upright labellum that lies over the front of the stigma. A median

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 ...

spur is found in all six species of ''Brownleea'' and in many species of ''Disperis''.

References

External links

An updated classification of Orchidaceae (2015)Botanical Journal of the Linnean SocietyWiley Online Library

synopsis of ''Disperis''''Adansonia'' 27(2)''Adansonia''journalshome page of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle

page 14''Genera Orchidacearum'' volume 2Google Books
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2279982 Orchideae Orchideae genera Taxa named by Olof Swartz