''Microchilus'' is a

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

genus of about 75 species belonging to 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 ...

). It was first described by

Carl Borivoj Presl Carl Borivoj Presl ( cs, Karel Bořivoj Presl; 17 February 1794 – 2 October 1852) was a Czech botanist. Biography Presl lived his entire life in Prague, and was a professor of botany at the University of Prague (1833–52).

in 1827, but the genus was not widely recognized until it was separated in 2002 by P. Ormerod from the genus '' Erythrodes'' s. str.. It corresponds to its New World species. The two genera were distinguished by the different characters of the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

and

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 ...

. One needs to dissect the flowers to see the difference at generic level with ''Erythrodes''. In 2005, another 32 new species were added to this genus by Ormerod (see : Reference). The horticultural abbreviation for this genus is Mcr.

Species

# '' Microchilus anchoriferus'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Western South America) # '' Microchilus arietinus'' (Rchb.f. & Warm.) Ormerod (2002) (tropical America to Argentina) # '' Microchilus austrobrasiliensis'' (Porsch) Ormerod (2002) (Brazil) # '' Microchilus bimentatus'' (Dressler) Ormerod (2004) (Costa Rica) # '' Microchilus brachyplectron'' (Pabst) Ormerod (2002) (Brazil) # '' Microchilus brunnescens'' Ormerod (2005) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus buchtienii'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Bolivia) # '' Microchilus callophylloides'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus calophyllus'' (Rchb.f.) Ormerod (2002) (Costa Rica) # '' Microchilus campanulatus'' Ormerod (2005) (Venezuela) # '' Microchilus capitatus'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus caucanus'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus constrictus'' Ormerod (2005) (Amazonas) # '' Microchilus curviflorus'' Ormerod (2005) (Venezuela) # '' Microchilus densiflorus'' (Lindl.) D.Dietr. (1852) (Brazil) # '' Microchilus dolichostachys'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus ecuadorensis'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus ensicalcar'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus epiphyticus'' (Dressler) Ormerod (2002) (Costa Rica, Panama) # '' Microchilus erythrodoides'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia, Venezuela) # '' Microchilus fendleri'' Ormerod (2005) (Venezuela) # '' Microchilus fosbergii'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus glacensis'' (Dod) Ormerod, Lindleyana 17: 216 (2002) (Haiti) # '' Microchilus glanduliferus'' Ormerod (2005) (Venezuela) # '' Microchilus globosus'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus haughtii'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus herzogii'' (Schltr.) Ormerod, Lindleyana 17: 217 (2002) (Bolivia) # '' Microchilus hirtellus'' (Sw.) D.Dietr. (1852) (West Indies - threatened or endangered species; northern South America) # '' Microchilus hughjonesii'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus integrus'' Ormerod (2005) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus kuduyariensis'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus lamprophyllus'' (Linden & Rchb.f.) Ormerod (2002) (Brazil) # '' Microchilus laticalcar'' (Dod) Ormerod (2002) (Dominican rep.) # '' Microchilus lechleri'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus luniferus'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Mexico to Central America) # '' Microchilus madrinanii'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus major'' C.Presl (1827) (north & west South America) # '' Microchilus mexicanus'' (Ames) Ormerod (2002) (Mexico) # '' Microchilus micayvallis'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus microcaprinus'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus minor'' C.Presl (1827) (Peru) # '' Microchilus moritzii'' Ormerod (2005) (Venezuela) # '' Microchilus nigrescens'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Costa Rica to Ecuador) # '' Microchilus ortgiesii'' (Rchb.f.) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus ovatus'' (Lindl.) D.Dietr. (1852) (Colombia, Venezuela) # '' Microchilus paleaceus'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Caribbean, W. South America to N. Brazil) # '' Microchilus panamanicus'' Ormerod (2005) (Panama) # '' Microchilus pauciflorus'' (Poepp. & Endl.) D.Dietr. (1852) (Brazil) # '' Microchilus pedrojuanensis'' Ormerod (2005) (Paraguay) # '' Microchilus peytonorum'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus plantagineus'' (L.) D.Dietr. (1852) (Caribbean - threatened or endangered species; Venezuela) # '' Microchilus platanilloensis'' Ormerod (2004) (Costa Rica) # '' Microchilus platysepalus'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus plowmanii'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus preslii'' Ormerod (2002) (Peru) # '' Microchilus pseudobrunnescens'' Ormerod (2005) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus pseudominor'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus putumayoensis'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus quadratus'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia, Ecuador) # '' Microchilus rioesmeraldae'' Ormerod (2005) (Colombia) # '' Microchilus rioitayanus'' Ormerod (2005) (Peru) # '' Microchilus riopalenquensis'' Ormerod (2004) (Ecuador, Peru) # '' Microchilus rojasii'' Ormerod (2005) (Paraguay) # '' Microchilus schultesianus'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Trinidad) # '' Microchilus scrotiformis'' (C.Schweinf.) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia, Venezuela) # '' Microchilus sparreorum'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus sprucei'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Ecuador) # '' Microchilus tridax'' (Rchb.f.) Ormerod (2002) (Central America) # '' Microchilus trifasciatus'' Ormerod (2002) (Peru) # '' Microchilus valverdei'' Ormerod (2005) (Costa Rica) # '' Microchilus venezuelanus'' (Garay & Dunst.) Ormerod (2002) (Venezuela) # '' Microchilus vesicifer'' (Rchb.f.) Ormerod (2002) (Mexico to Peru) # '' Microchilus weberianus'' (Garay) Ormerod (2002) (Ecuador, Galapagos) # '' Microchilus xystophyllus'' (Rchb.f.) Ormerod (2002) (Venezuela, Brazil) # '' Microchilus zeuxinoides'' (Schltr.) Ormerod (2002) (Colombia)

References

* Ormerod, P. 2002. ''Taxonomic changes in Goodyerinae (Orchidaceae: Orchidoideae)''. Lindleyana 17: 189-238 * Ormerod, P. 2005. ''Studies of Neotropical Goodyerinae (Orchidaceae)''. Harvard Pap. Bot. 9: 391–423 * New species : Orchid Research Newsletter 47 (January 2006); Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1556014 Goodyerinae Cranichideae genera Orchids of North America Orchids of South America Taxa named by Carl Borivoj Presl