''Phaius'', commonly known as swamp orchids or in Chinese as 鶴頂蘭屬/鹤顶兰属 (he ding 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 forty-five 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

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

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 ...

which form clumps with crowded, sometimes stem-like

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 ...

, large,

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 relatively large, often colourful flowers. Species in this genus are found in the

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 ...

parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

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 ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and various islands of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five 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 bounded by the cont ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

s. One species is also naturalized in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

.Biota of North America Program, county distribution map
/ref>

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Phaius'' are evergreen, terrestrial,

sympodial In botany, sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, als ...

herbs with thin underground

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s and crowded above ground, sometimes stem-like pseudobulbs. There are several pleated, stalked leaves emerging from the pseudobulb. The flower stalk is unbranched and bears a few to many moderately large, resupinate, often colourful 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 the labellum has three lobes and a shallow pouch near its base.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Phaius'' was first formally described in 1790 by

João de Loureiro João de Loureiro (1717, Lisbon – 18 October 1791) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Jesuit missionary and botanist. Biography After receiving admission to the Jesuit Order, João de Loureiro served as a missionary in Goa, capital of Port ...

and the description was published in his book ''Flora Cochinchinensis''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''Phaius'') 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 ...

word ''phaios'' meaning "dusky" or "brown", referring to the brownish colour of the flowers of many species in this genus.

List of species

The following is a list of ''Phaius'' species recognised by

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 ...

as of September 2023: *'' Phaius amboinensis'' Blume (1856) *'' Phaius baconii'' J.J.Wood & Shim (1994) *'' Phaius borneensis'' J.J.Sm. (1903) *'' Phaius callosus'' (Blume)

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

(1831) *'' Phaius columnaris'' C.Z.Tang & S.J.Chen (1985) *'' Phaius cooperi'' Rolfe (1858) *'' Phaius corymbioides''

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 ...

(1911) *'' Phaius daenikeri'' Kraenzl. (1929) *'' Phaius ecalcaratus'' J.J.Sm., (1911) *'' Phaius flavus'' (Blume) Lindl., (1831) *'' Phaius grandiflorus'' ( Nadeaud)

Govaerts Govaerts/Govaert is a Flemish or Dutch surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abraham Govaerts (1589–1626), Flemish painter * Benny Govaerts, Belgian Paralympian athlete * Hendrick Govaerts (1669-1720), Flemish painter *Jacqueline Gov ...

(2011) *'' Phaius gratus'' Blume (1856) *'' Phaius hainanensis'' C.Z.Tang & S.J.Chen (1982) *'' Phaius hekouensis'' Tsukaya, M.Nakaj. & S.K.Wu (2010) *''

Phaius indigofer ''Phaius'', commonly known as swamp orchids or in Chinese as 鶴頂蘭屬/鹤顶兰属 (he ding lan shu), is a genus of forty-five species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are evergreen, terrestrial herbs which form cl ...

Hassk. Justus Carl Hasskarl (6 December 1811 – 5 January 1894) was a German explorer and botanist specializing in pteridophytes, bryophytes and spermatophytes. Biography Justus Carl Hasskarl was born in Kassel in the Kingdom of Westphalia. In ...

(1842) *'' Phaius indochinensis'' Seidenf. & Ormerod (1995) *'' Phaius labiatus'' J.J.Sm. (1920) *'' Phaius landyae'' P.J.Cribb & J.V.Stone (2017) *'' Phaius leonidii'' P.J.Cribb & J.V.Stone (2017) *'' Phaius longicornu''

Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Armand Guillaumin Armand Guillaumin (; February 16, 1841 – June 26, 1927) was a French Impressionist painter and l ...

(1957) *'' Phaius luridus'' Thwaites (1861) *'' Phaius lyonii''

Ames AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...

(1915) *'' Phaius mannii'' Rchb.f. (1881) *'' Phaius mishmensis'' (Lindl. & Paxton) Rchb.f. (1857) *'' Phaius montanus'' Schltr. (1912) *'' Phaius nanus''

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...

(1890) *'' Phaius occidentalis'' Schltr. (1903) *'' Phaius pauciflorus'' (Blume) Blume (1856) **''Phaius pauciflorus var. pallidus'' ( Ridl.) Holttum (1947) **''Phaius pauciflorus subsp. pauciflorus'' **''Phaius pauciflorus var. punctatus'' (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. (1920) **''Phaius pauciflorus subsp. sabahensis'' J.J.Wood & A.L.Lamb (1993) **''Phaius pauciflorus var. sumatranus'' J.J.Sm. (1920) *''

Phaius philippinensis ''Phaius philippinensis'' is a species of orchid 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. Orchids are cosmopolitan pl ...

N.E.Br. Nicholas Edward Brown (11 July 1849 in Redhill, Surrey – 25 November 1934 in Kew Gardens, London) was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents. He was also an authority on several families of plants, including Asclepiadaceae, ...

(1889) *'' Phaius pictus'' T.E.Hunt (1952) (accepted by

Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH) is an association of the leaders of herbaria in Australia and New Zealand. It is governed by a constitution. It endorses the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Australian Plant Census, which is the so ...

) *'' Phaius pulchellus'' Kraenzl. (1882) **''Phaius pulchellus var. ambrensis'' Bosser (1971) **''Phaius pulchellus var. andrambovatensis'' Bosser (1971) **''Phaius pulchellus var. pulchellus'' **''Phaius pulchellus var. sandrangatensis'' Bosser (1971) *'' Phaius reflexipetalus'' J.J.Wood & Shim (1994) *'' Phaius robertsii'' F.Muell. (1883) *'' Phaius stenocentron'' Schltr. (1911) *'' Phaius subtrilobus'' Ames & C.Schweinf. (1920) *'' Phaius takeoi'' ( Hayata) H.J.Su (1989) *'' Phaius tankervilleae '' (

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

ex L'Hér.) Blume (1856) **''Phaius tankervilleae'' var. ''antoninae'' ( P.Balzer) J.V.Stone & P.J.Cribb (2017) ** ''Phaius tankervilleae'' var. ''australis'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria (state), Vic ...

) J.V.Stone & P.J.Cribb (2017) **''Phaius tankervilleae'' var. ''baolocensis'' ( Duy, Tao Chen & D.X.Zhang) J.V.Stone & P.J.Cribb (2017) ** ''Phaius tankervilleae'' var. ''bernaysii'' (F.Muell. ex Rchb.f.) J.V.Stone & P.J.Cribb (2017) **''Phaius tankervilleae'' var. ''devogelii'' J.V.Stone & P.J.Cribb (2017) **''Phaius tankervilleae'' var. ''tankervilleae'' *'' Phaius tenuis'' Rchb.f. (1857) *'' Phaius tetragonus'' (Thouars) Rchb.f. (1855) *'' Phaius tonkinensis'' (Aver.) (2005) *'' Phaius trichoneurus'' Schltr. (1925) *'' Phaius wallichii'' Lindl. (1831) *'' Phaius wenshanensis'' F.Y.Liu (1991)

Distribution

Orchids in the genus ''Phaius'' are found in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, tropical and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

and Australia. Nine species, four of which are

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 ...

, occur in China and three species including two endemics are found in

. The Australian species are found in

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 ...

, 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 ...

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

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2719951 Collabieae genera