''Orchis'' 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 ...

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 ...

), occurring mainly in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Northwest Africa The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

, and ranging as far as

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 ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, and

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The name is 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 ...

ὄρχις ''orchis'', meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids.Alberta Native Plant Council

Description

These terrestrial orchids have

root tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s instead of

pseudobulb 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 ''heter ...

s. They are extremely diverse in appearance. They produce an erect

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a cylindrical to globular

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

, long, with yellow, red to purple

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

. They start flowering at the base, slowly progressing upwards, except for the Monkey orchid (''

Orchis simia ''Orchis simia'', commonly known as the monkey orchid, is a greyish pink to reddish species of the genus ''Orchis''. It gets its common name from its lobed lip which mimics the general shape of a monkey's body. The range of the species is centra ...

''), which flowers in reverse order. The original genus ''Orchis'' used to contain more than 1,300 names. Since it was

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 ...

, it has been divided by Pridgeon et al., into several new genera (see Reference): ''

Ponerorchis ''Hemipilia'' is a genus of plants in the family Orchidaceae. It is native to China, Japan, the Himalayas, Indochina, Siberia, and southern Russia to Poland. Species 73 species are accepted. *'' Hemipilia alpestris'' *'' Hemipilia × alpest ...

'', ''

Schizodium ''Disa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. It comprises about 182 species. Most of the species are indigenous to tropical and southern Africa, with a few more in the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar, and Réunion.Hans Peter ...

'', ''

Steveniella ''Steveniella'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Only one species is known, ''Steveniella satyrioides'', native to Iran, Turkey, Crimea and the Caucasus. ''Steveniella satyrioides'' is considered an endangered ...

''. They can be found in tropical Rainforest and semi-desert regions, near the seashore and in the tundra. The majority of neotropical orchid species can be found in southern Central America, northwest South America

Taxonomy

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted 22 species, along with a number of subspecies: * ''

Orchis adenocheila ''Orchis'' is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Maghreb, Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The name is from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις ''orchis'', meaning "testicl ...

'' Czerniak. (Iran) * ''

Orchis anatolica ''Orchis anatolica'' is a species of flowering plant in the Orchidaceae family. It is native to Crete, Cyprus, the East Aegean Islands, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestine region, Syria, and Turkey Turkey, officially the Repub ...

'' Boiss. (including ''Orchis troodi'' (Renz) P.Delforge) – Anatolian orchid (Cyprus, Turkey, Southern Aegean Islands, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iran) * ''

Orchis anthropophora ''Orchis anthropophora'' (formerly ''Aceras anthropophorum''), the man orchid, is a European species of orchid whose flowers resemble a human figure. The head is formed by the petals and sepals, and the suspended torso and limbs by the lobes of t ...

'' (L.) All. (Western Europe to Mediterranean) * ''

Orchis brancifortii ''Orchis brancifortii'' is a species of orchid endemic to Sardinia, Sicily, and southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. ...

'' Biv. (Southern Italy, Sicilia, Sardinia) * ''

Orchis canariensis ''Orchis canariensis'' is a species of orchid endemic to the Canary Islands. Description Previously described as a subspecies of '' Orchis patens'', it is now accepted as a separate species also supported by a molecular study that has highligh ...

'' Lindl. * ''

Orchis deuterodelamainii ''Orchis'' is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The name is from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις ''orchis'', meaning "testicle", from ...

'' J.M.H.Shaw * ''

Orchis galilaea ''Orchis galilaea'' is a species of orchid found from southern Turkey to Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member s ...

'' (Bornm. & M.Schulze) Schltr. (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine) * ''

Orchis italica ''Orchis italica'', the naked man orchid or the Italian orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean Basin. It gets its common name from the lobed lip (labellum) of each flower which resembles the general shape of a naked man. In ...

'' Poir. – Man orchid, Italian orchid (Mediterranean) * '' Orchis laeta'' Steinh. * ''

Orchis mascula ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

'' (L.) L. – Early purple orchid, (N. & C. Europe to Iran, Canary Islands) ** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''ichnusae'' Corrias ** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''laxifloriformis'' Rivas Goday & B.Rodr. ** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''mascula'' ** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''scopulorum'' (Summerh.) H.Sund. ex H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr. ** ''Orchis mascula'' subsp. ''speciosa'' (Mutel) Hegi * ''

Orchis militaris ''Orchis militaris'', the military orchid, is a species of orchid native to Europe. It is the type species of the genus ''Orchis''. Description This plant grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm with a robust stem with rather drawn up oblong ...

'' L. – Military orchid (Europe to Mongolia) ** ''Orchis militaris'' subsp. ''militaris'' ** ''Orchis militaris'' subsp. ''stevenii'' (Rchb.f.) B.Baumann & al. * '' Orchis olbiensis'' Reut. ex Gren. (NW. Italy - to NW. Africa) * '' Orchis pallens'' L. – Pale-flowered orchid (Europe to Caucasus) * '' Orchis patens'' Desf. (Central Mediterranean to NW. Africa) ** ''Orchis patens'' subsp. ''canariensis'' (Lindl.) Asch. & Graebn. ** ''Orchis patens'' subsp. ''patens'' * '' Orchis pauciflora'' Ten. (Albania, Corsica, Greece, Italy, Crete and Yugoslavia) * ''

Orchis provincialis ''Orchis provincialis'', the Provence orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Orchis''. Description ''Orchis provincialis'' is a herbaceous plant high. The 4-5 basal leaves are oblong-lanceolate, with a length of about 8 cm and ar ...

'' Balb. ex Lam. & DC. (SC. & S. Europe to Caucasus, NW Africa) * '' Orchis punctulata'' Steven ex Lindl. – Small-dotted orchid (SE. Europe to W. Asia) * ''

Orchis purpurea ''Orchis purpurea'', the lady orchid, is a herbaceous plant belonging to the genus ''Orchis'' of the family Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis purpurea'' reaches on average of height. The leaves are broad and oblong-lanceolate, forming a ros ...

'' Huds. – Lady orchid, purple orchid (Europe to Caucasus, Algeria) ** ''Orchis purpurea'' subsp. ''caucasica'' (Regel) B.Baumann & al. ** ''Orchis purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'' * '' Orchis quadripunctata'' Cirillo ex Ten. – Four-spotted orchid (Sardinia to Eastern Mediterranean) * ''

'' Lam. – Monkey orchid (Europe to Iran, N. Africa) ** ''Orchis simia'' subsp. ''simia'' ** ''Orchis simia'' subsp. ''taubertiana'' (B.Baumann & H.Baumann) Kreutz * '' Orchis sitiaca'' (Renz) P.Delforge * ''

Orchis spitzelii ''Orchis spitzelii'' is a species of orchid found from Sweden (Gotland), eastern Spain to the Caucasus and western Asia and northwestern Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30 ...

'' Saut. ex W.D.J.Koch – Spitzel's orchid (Sweden (Gotland), E. Spain to Caucasus, NW. Africa) ** ''Orchis spitzelii'' subsp. ''cazorlensis'' (Lacaita) D.Rivera & Lopez Velez ** ''Orchis spitzelii'' subsp. ''nitidifolia'' (W.P.Teschner) Soó ** ''Orchis spitzelii'' subsp. ''spitzelii''

Natural hybrids

, 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 ...

accepted 37 hybrid species, along with a number of hybrid subspecies: * ''Orchis'' × '' algeriensis'' B.Baumann & H.Baumann (''O. patens'' × ''O. spitzelii'') * ''Orchis'' × ''angusticruris'' Franch. (''O. purpurea'' × ''O. simia'') (Europe to Caucasus) ** ''Orchis'' × ''angusticruris'' nothosubsp. ''angusticruris'' (''O. purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'' × ''O. simia'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''angusticruris'' nothosubsp. ''transcaucasica'' B.Baumann & al. (''O. purpurea'' subsp. ''caucasuca'' × ''O. simia'') * ''Orchis'' × '' apollinaris'' W.Rossi & al. (''O. italica'' × ''O. simia'') (Italy) * ''Orchis'' × '' aurunca'' W.Rossi & Minut. (''O. pauciflora'' × ''O. provincialis'') * ''Orchis'' × '' bergonii'' Nanteuil (''O. anthropophora'' × ''O. simia'') (Western Mediterranean) * ''Orchis'' × '' beyrichii'' (Rchb.f.) A.Kern. (''O. militaris'' × ''O. simia'') (Europe to Turkey) ** ''Orchis'' × ''beyrichii'' nothosubsp. ''beyrichii'' (''O. militaris'' subsp. ''militaris'' × ''O. simia'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''beyrichii'' nothosubsp. ''golestanica'' (Renz) H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr. (''O. militaris'' subsp. ''stevenii'' × ''O. simia'') * ''Orchis'' × '' bispurium'' (G.Keller) H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr. (''O. anthropophora'' × ''O. militaris'' × ''O. purpurea'') * ''Orchis'' × '' bivonae'' Tod. (''O. anthropophora'' × ''O. italica'') (Southern Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' buelii'' Wildh. (''O. provincialis'' × ''O. quadripunctata'') * ''Orchis'' × '' caesii'' De Angelis & Fumanti (''O. italica'' × ''O. purpurea'') * ''Orchis'' × '' calliantha'' Renz & Taubenheim (''O. punctulata'' × ''O. simia'') (Turkey) * ''Orchis'' × '' chabalensis'' B.Baumann & al. (''O. militaris'' subsp. ''stevenii'' × ''O. punctulata'') * ''Orchis'' × ''colemanii'' Cortesi (''O. mascula'' × ''O. pauciflora'') * ''Orchis'' × '' fallax'' (De Not.) Willk. (''O. patens'' × ''O. provincialis'') * ''Orchis'' × '' fitzii'' Hautz. (''O. anatolica'' × ''O. mascula'') (Turkey) * ''Orchis'' × '' hybrida'' (Lindl.) Boenn. ex Rchb. (''O. militaris'' × ''O. purpurea'') (Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' klopfensteiniae'' P.Delforge (''O. pallens'' × ''O. spitzelii'') (SW Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' kretzschmariorum'' B.Baumann & H.Baumann (''O. anatolica'' × ''O. provincialis'') * ''Orchis'' × '' ligustica'' Ruppert (''O. mascula'' × ''O. patens'') (Mediterranean) * ''Orchis'' × '' loreziana'' Brügger(''O. mascula'' × ''O. pallens'') (Europe) ** ''Orchis'' × ''loreziana'' nothosubsp. ''kisslingii'' (Beck) Potucek (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''speciosa'' × ''O. pallens'') (Eastern Europe) ** ''Orchis'' × ''loreziana'' nothosubsp. ''loreziana'' (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''mascula'' × ''O. pallens'') (Central Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' lucensis'' Antonetti & Bertolini (''O. pauciflora'' × ''O. simia'') * ''Orchis'' × '' macra'' Lindl. (''O. anthropophora'' × ''O. purpurea'') (Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' orphanidesii'' (E.G.Camus) B.Bock (''O. anthropophora'' × ''O. mascula'') * ''Orchis'' × '' palanchonii'' G.Foelsche & W.Foelsche (''O. olbiensis'' × ''O. pauciflora'') * ''Orchis'' × '' penzigiana'' A.Camus (''O. mascula'' × ''O. provincialis'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''penzigiana'' nothosubsp. ''jailae'' (Soó) H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr. (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''speciosa'' × ''O. provincialis'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''penzigiana'' nothosubsp. ''penzigiana'' (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''mascula'' × ''O. provincialis'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''penzigiana'' nothosubsp. ''sardoa'' Scrugli & M.P.Grasso (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''ichnusae'' × ''O. provincialis'') * ''Orchis'' × '' permixta'' Soó (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''signifera'' × ''O. pallens'' × ''O. provincialis'') (Crimea) * ''Orchis'' × '' petterssonii'' G.Keller ex Pett. (''O. mascula'' × ''O. spitzelii'') (Europe, NW Africa) ** ''Orchis'' × ''petterssonii'' nothosubsp. ''incantata'' (P.Delforge) H.Kretzschmar, Eccarius & H.Dietr. (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''laxifloriformis'' × ''O. spitzelii'' subsp. ''cazorlensis'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''petterssonii'' nothosubsp. ''petterssonii'' (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''mascula'' × ''O. spitzelii'' subsp. ''cazorlensis'') * ''Orchis'' × '' plessidiaca'' Renz (''O. pallens'' × ''O. provincialis'') (SE Europe to Krym) * ''Orchis'' × '' pseudoanatolica'' H.Fleischm. (''O. pauciflora'' × ''O. quadripunctata'') (SE Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' schebestae'' Griebl (''O. mascula'' × ''O. quadripunctata'') * ''Orchis'' × '' serraniana'' P.Delforge (''O. mascula'' subsp. ''laxifloriformis'' × ''O. olbiensis'') * ''Orchis'' × '' sezikiana'' B.Baumann & H.Baumann (''O. anatolica'' × ''O. quadripunctata'') * ''Orchis'' × '' spuria'' Rchb.f. (''O. anthropophora'' × ''O. militaris'') (Europe) * ''Orchis'' × '' thriftiensis'' Renz (''O. anatolica'' × ''O. pauciflora'') * ''Orchis'' × '' tochniana'' Kreutz & Scraton (''O. italica'' × ''O. punctulata'') (Cyprus) * ''Orchis'' × '' willingiorum'' B.Baumann & H.Baumann (''O. provincialis'' × ''O. spitzelii'') * ''Orchis'' × '' wulffiana'' Soó (''O. punctulata'' × ''O. purpurea'') (Crimea to caucasus) ** ''Orchis'' × ''wulffiana'' nothosubsp. ''suckowii'' (Kümpel) B.Baumann & al. (''O. punctulata'' × ''O. purpurea'' subsp. ''caucasica'') ** ''Orchis'' × ''wulffiana'' nothosubsp. ''wulffiana'' (''O. punctulata'' × ''O. purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'')

Intergeneric hybrids

* ''Orchiophrys'' (''Ophrys'' x ''Orchis'') * ''Orchiserapias'' (''Orchis'' x ''Serapias'')

References

* * * (in German) *

External links

* *
Orchis picture database

{{Authority control Orchideae genera Taxa named by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort