''Geodorum'', commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 (di bao lan shu), 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 eight species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the orchid 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 flowering ...

. They are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

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 ...

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 underground

pseudobulbs The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and h ...

, broad, pleated leaves and small to medium-sized, tube-shaped or bell-shaped flowers on a flowering stem with a drooping end. Species in this genus are found in southern Japan,

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 ...

, Australia and islands of the southwest

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Geodorum'' are deciduous, terrestrial herbs with pseudobulbs underground but close to the surface. There are several pleated leaves emerging from the pseudobulb, the largest at the top. Each leaf has a stalk which wraps around those below it. The flower stalk also emerges from the pseudobulb and bears a few to many bell-shaped or tubular flowers. 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 are similar in size and shape and do not spread widely apart from each other, so that the flowers do not open widely. The portion of the flowering stem carrying flowers droops, so that although the flowers are non-

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 " ...

, the labellum is the lowest part of the flower. The labellum has three lobes but lacks the spur or pouch of orchids in the similar genus ''

Eulophia ''Eulophia'', commonly known as corduroy orchids, is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Most ''Eulophia'' orchids are terrestrial but some are deciduous while others are evergreen. They eit ...

''.

Taxonomy and naming

The first formal description of ''Geodorum'' appeared in ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants'' edited by

Henry Cranke Andrews Henry Cranke Andrews (fl. 1794 – 1830), was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was often referred to as Charles, until a record of his ...

. There is a description and an illustration of ''Geodorum citrinum'', now known as ''

Geodorum terrestre ''Geodorum terrestre'', commonly known as pink shepherds' crook or bent orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is native to areas from tropical Asia to northern Australia. It is a terrestrial orchid with broad, pleated leaves and up to and ...

''. The illustration was the work of Andrews but although not recognised in the book, the description is believed to be the work of George Jackson. The name ''Geodorum'' is derived 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 ...

words ''ge'' meaning "earth" and ''doron'' meaning "leaf", apparently referring to the terrestrial habit of orchids in this genus.

Species

Species accepted by the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected pl ...

as of October 2018 are: * ''

Geodorum attenuatum ''Geodorum'', commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 (di bao lan shu), is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are deciduous, terrestrial herbs with underground pseudobulbs, broad, ...

'' Griff. - Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Hainan, Yunnan * ''

Geodorum densiflorum ''Geodorum densiflorum'', commonly known as pink nodding orchid or 地宝兰 (di bao lan), is a plant in the orchid family and is native to areas from tropical Asia to eastern Australia and some Pacific Islands. It is a terrestrial orchid with ...

'' ( Lam.)

Schltr. Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South Ame ...

- Tropical and subtropical Asia to the western Pacific * ''

Geodorum duperreanum ''Geodorum'', commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 (di bao lan shu), is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are deciduous, terrestrial herbs with underground pseudobulbs, broad, pl ...

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

- Vietnam * ''

Geodorum eulophioides ''Geodorum'', commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 (di bao lan shu), is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are deciduous, Terrestrial plant, terrestrial Herbaceous plant, herbs wit ...

'' Schltr. - Guizhou, Myanmar * '' Geodorum laxiflorum'' Griff. - Assam, Orissa, Chhattisgarh * '' Geodorum recurvum'' (

Roxb. William Roxburgh FRSE FRCPE FLS (3/29 June 1751 – 18 February 1815) was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India, describing species and working on economic botany. He is known as the founding father of Indian botany. ...

) Alston in Trimen - India, Assam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan * ''

Geodorum siamense ''Geodorum'', commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 (di bao lan shu), is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are deciduous, terrestrial herbs with underground pseudobulbs, broa ...

'' Rolfe ex

Downie Downie or Downey is a surname. There appears to be a number of sources of the Downie/Downey surname in Scotland and Ireland, with the intermittent mix in Ulster. The spelling of the surname as Downie is almost unique to Scotland with minor instance ...

- Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia * ''

'' ( L.) Garay - Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, Australia

Distribution

Orchids in this genus are found in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

including

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, 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 ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. There are two species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to China and others occur in

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 New Caledonia. One species (''

'') occurs in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

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_ ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

References

* (1810) Botanist's Repository, for new, and rare plants 10: , ad pl. 626. * 2005. ''Handbuch der Orchideen-Namen. Dictionary of Orchid Names. Dizionario dei nomi delle orchidee''. Ulmer, Stuttgart * (2009) Epidendroideae (Part two). Genera Orchidacearum 5: 109 ff. Oxford University Press.

External links