The Orchidoideae, or the orchidoid orchids, are a subfamily of 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 ...

) that contains around 3630 species. Species typically have a single (

monandrous The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

), fertile

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

which is erect and basitonic.

Description

The subfamily Orchidoideae and the previously recognized subfamily Spiranthoideae are considered the closest allies in the natural group of the monandrous orchids because of several generally shared characters: * a shared

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 ...

habit * sectile (capable of being severed) or granular

pollinia A pollinium (: 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 milkwee ...

* erect anthers.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny of the Orchidoideae is volatile and still subject to change. Historically, the Orchidoideae have been partitioned into up to 6

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, including

Orchideae Orchideae is a tribe of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae. Historically, it was divided into 2 subtribes, Orchidinae and Habenariinae. The subtribe Orchidinae alone contains about 1,800 species. However, although some phylogenetic studies hav ...

, Diseae, Cranichideae,

Chloraeeae Chloraeinae is an orchid subtribe in the subfamily Orchidoideae The Orchidoideae, or the orchidoid orchids, are a subfamily of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) that contains around 3630 species. Species typically have a single (monandrous), fe ...

Diurideae Diurideae is a tribe of orchid in the subfamily Orchidoideae. It contains about 40 accepted genera. , its division into subtribes remained unclear. Genera Chase et al. (2015) accepted the following genera. Some have since been combined. *'' Ac ...

, and Codonorchideae. However, the most recent

molecular phylogenetics 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 ...

analysis led by Chase et al. in 2015 and subsequently by Chen et al. in 2017 indicates that the Orchidoideae should be split into 4 tribes: the Orchideae, Cranichideae, Diurideae, and Codonorchideae.

Codonorchideae

This monophyletic tribe consists of only one genus, '' Codonorchis'', found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Cranichideae

This cosmopolitan tribe comprises 8 currently accepted subtribes. Molecular evidence suggests that the former Chloraeeae are sister to the rest of the Cranichideae. As such, the Chloraeeae are now considered a subtribe of the Cranichideae. Moreover, based on morphological and genetic evidence, the genus '' Discyphus'' was elevated out of the Spiranthinae to form its own monophyletic subtribe, the

Discyphinae ''Discyphus'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is the only genus in the subtribe Discyphinae of the tribe Cranichideae. It contains only one currently recognized species, ''Discyphus scopulariae'', with two ...

Orchideae Orchideae is a tribe of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae. Historically, it was divided into 2 subtribes, Orchidinae and Habenariinae. The subtribe Orchidinae alone contains about 1,800 species. However, although some phylogenetic studies hav ...

Once divided into the Orchidinae and Habenariinae (a nonsystematic paraphyletic splitting), the Orchideae now comprise 6 subtribes. Along with previous molecular studies, Chase et al's 2015 analysis confirmed that Diseae was a

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

grouping. Consequently, the former subtribes of Diseae have been redistributed within the Orchideae (for instance, '' Satyrium'' is now classified in the Orchidinae). In his 2015 study Chase recommended further study of historically problematic genera in the former Diseae such as '' Huttonaea and

Pachites ''Pachites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains two known species, both endemic to South Africa.Hans Peter Linder and Hubert Kurzweil. 1999. ''Orchids of Southern Africa''. 504 pages. A. A. Balkema. .Kew ...

.'' Further molecular analysis by Chen et al. in 2017 led to the following reorganization: Flowers of India 828

Diurideae Diurideae is a tribe of orchid in the subfamily Orchidoideae. It contains about 40 accepted genera. , its division into subtribes remained unclear. Genera Chase et al. (2015) accepted the following genera. Some have since been combined. *'' Ac ...

The Diurideae, a predominantly Australasian tribe, retain their previous subtribal organization and comprise 9 taxa: *

Acianthinae Acianthinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe Diurideae. See also * Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae The taxonomy of the Orchidaceae ( orchid family) has evolved slowly during the last 250 years, starting with Carl Linnaeus who in 1753 recogni ...

(monophyletic) *

Caladeniinae Caladeniinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe Diurideae. See also * Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae References

Caladeniinae, Orchid subtribes {{Orchidoideae-stub ...

(polyphyletic) * Cryptostylidinae (monophyletic) * Diuridinae (monophyletic) * Drakaeinae (monophyletic) *

Megastylidinae Megastylidinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe Diurideae. See also * Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae References

Megastylidinae, Orchid subtribes {{Orchidoideae-stub ...

(monophyletic) *

Prasophyllinae Prasophyllinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe Diurideae. See also * Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae The taxonomy of the Orchidaceae ( orchid family) has evolved slowly during the last 250 years, starting with Carl Linnaeus who in 1753 reco ...

(monophyletic) * Rhizanthellinae (monophyletic) * Thelymitrinae (monophyletic)

References

* Pridgeon, A.M., P.J. Cribb, M.W. Chase and F.N. Rasmussen ds. 2003. Genera Orchidacearum vol. 3: Orchidoideae part 2, Vanilloideae. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. * Salazar, G.A., M.W. Chase, M.A. Soto Arenas and M. Ingrouille. 2003. Phylogenetics of Cranichideae with emphasis on Spiranthinae (Orchidaceae, Orchidoideae): evidence from plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. ''American Journal of Botany'' 90: 777-795. * Salazar, G.A., L.I. Cabrera, S. Madriñán and M.W. Chase. 2009. Phylogenetic relationships of Cranichidinae and Prescottiinae (Orchidaceae, Cranichideae) inferred from plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. ''Annals of Botany'' 104: 403-416

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132369 Orchidoideae, Asparagales subfamilies