''Micropera'', commonly known as dismal orchids or 小囊兰属 (xiao nang 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 about twenty 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 from 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 ...

. Plants in this genus are large

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another 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 epiphyt ...

s with thick roots, long, fibrous stems, linear leaves and whitish or yellow, non-resupinate 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 to each other and the labellum is shoe-shaped or sac-like and has three lobes. It is found from

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and the western

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

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Micropera'' are epiphytic,

monopodial Vascular plants with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word ''Monopodial'' is derived from Greek language, Greek '', ''one'' and '', "foot", in ...

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 fibrous stems up to long supported at intervals by coarse, thick roots. Widely spaced, leathery, linear leaves up to long and wide are arranged along the stems. Short flowering stems emerge oppose the leaves bearing non-resupinate, whitish, pink or yellowish flowers. The

s and

s are narrow, fleshy and similar to and free from each other. The labellum is shoe-shaped or sac-like with a prominent spur near its base and has three lobes. The side lobes are broad and erect.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Micropera'' was first formally described in 1832 by

John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

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 name ''Micropera'' 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 ''mikros'' meaning "small" or "little" and ''pera'' meaning "pouch" or "wallet".

Distribution

Species of ''Micropera'' are found from the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 ...

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, ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Species list

The following is a list of ''Micropera'' 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 at December 2018: * '' Micropera callosa'' (Blume) Garay - Borneo, Sumatra, Java * '' Micropera cochinchinensis'' (Rchb.f.) Tang & F.T.Wang - Vietnam * '' Micropera costulata'' (J.J.Sm.) Garay - Sumatra * '' Micropera draco'' (Tuyama) P.J.Cribb & Ormerod - Micronesia * '' Micropera edanoi'' Ormerod - Philippines * '' Micropera fasciculata'' (Lindl.) Garay - Queensland, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomons * '' Micropera fuscolutea'' (Lindl.) Garay - Malaysia, Borneo * '' Micropera loheri'' (L.O.Williams) Garay - Luzon * '' Micropera mannii'' (Hook.f.) Tang & F.T.Wang - Assam, Bhutan * '' Micropera obtusa'' (Lindl.) Tang & F.T.Wang - Assam, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand * '' Micropera pallida'' (Roxb.) Lindl. - Assam, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Java * '' Micropera philippinensis'' (Lindl.) Garay - Philippines * '' Micropera poilanei'' (Guillaumin) Garay - Hainan, Vietnam * '' Micropera proboscidea'' (J.J.Sm.) Garay - Malaysia, Sumatra * '' Micropera rostrata'' (Roxb.) N.P.Balakr. - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bangladesh * '' Micropera secunda'' (Rolfe) Tang & F.T.Wang - Myanmar * '' Micropera sheryliae'' P.O'Byrne & J.J.Verm. - Malaysia * '' Micropera sterrophylla'' (Schltr.) Garay - Sulawesi * '' Micropera thailandica'' (Seidenf. & Smitinand) Garay - Thailand, Vietnam * '' Micropera tibetica'' X.H.Jin & Y.J.Lai – Tibet * '' Micropera uncinata'' (Teijsm. & Binn.) Garay - Java * '' Micropera utriculosa'' (Ames) Gara - Philippines

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1602871 Vandeae genera

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution

Species list

See also

References