''Geodorum'', commonly known as shepherds' crooks or 地宝兰属 (di bao lan shu), is a

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 eight species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the orchid 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 ...

. 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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. 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 o ...

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

with underground

pseudobulbs In botany, a 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 ''heterob ...

, broad,

pleated A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. Pleats are cat ...

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 Asia, Australia and islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean.

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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

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, 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 ei ...

''.

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 (c. 1759 – 1835, floruit, 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 Cha ...

. There is a description and an illustration of ''Geodorum citrinum'', now known as '' Geodorum terrestre''. 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 classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

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) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

as of October 2018 are: * '' Geodorum attenuatum'' Griff. - Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Hainan, Yunnan * '' Geodorum densiflorum'' ( Lam.)

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

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

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.) Alston in Trimen - India, Assam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan * '' Geodorum siamense'' Rolfe ex Downie - Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia * '' Geodorum terrestre'' ( L.) Garay - Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, Australia

Distribution

Orchids in this genus are found in India, Southeast Asia including

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. There are two species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to China and others occur in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. One species ('' Geodorum terrestre'') occurs in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

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