''Pinalia'', commonly known as gremlin orchids, 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 ...

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

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

. Orchids in this genus are large

epiphytic 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 ...

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...

plants with prominent

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, each with up to three thin, flat leaves and cup-shaped, relatively short-lived flowers with scale-like brown hairs on the outside. There are about 120 species occurring from

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

to the south-west

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 ...

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Pinalia'' are epiphytic or lithophytic, rarely

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 ...

with prominent, fleshy pseudobulbs that are covered with papery brown

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s when young. Each pseudobulb has up to three thin, leathery, linear to lance-shaped leaves. The flowers are resupinate, usually cup-shaped and last for a few days. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

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'' ...

is narrower than the

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may also refer to: Biology and healthcare * Lateral (anatomy), a term of location meaning "towards the side" * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle, an intrinsic muscle of the larynx * Lateral release ( ...

sepals which are attached at their base to 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 ...

to form a small ledge. The labellum is hinged to the base of the column and has three relatively small lobes.

Distribution

Orchids in the genus ''Pinalia'' occur in

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 ...

(about 17 species),

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, the

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago, archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of t ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...

, the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...

, 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 ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

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 ...

Queensland (Australia) Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Pinali'' was first formally described in 1826 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 ...

who published the description in ''Orchidearum Sceletos''. The name ''Pinalia'' is based on an unpublished name suggested by

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton Francis Buchanan (15 February 1762 – 15 June 1829), later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, was a Scottish surgeon, surveyor and botanist who made significant contributions as a geographer and zoolo ...

, derived from a Nepalese word meaning a type of forest yam.

Species list

Species accepted 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 February 2021: *'' Pinalia acervata'' *'' Pinalia acutifolia'' *'' Pinalia acutissima'' *'' Pinalia affinis'' *''

Pinalia amica ''Pinalia amica'' 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 plants tha ...

'' *'' Pinalia amplectens'' *'' Pinalia ancorifera'' *'' Pinalia angustifolia'' *'' Pinalia annapurnensis'' *'' Pinalia anomala'' *'' Pinalia apertiflora'' *'' Pinalia appendiculata'' *'' Pinalia atrovinosa'' *'' Pinalia baeuerleniana'' *'' Pinalia baniae'' *'' Pinalia barbifrons'' *'' Pinalia bengkulensis'' *''

Pinalia bhutanica ''Pinalia'', commonly known as gremlin orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are large epiphytic or lithophytic plants with prominent pseudobulbs, each with up to three thin, flat leaves and cup ...

'' *'' Pinalia bicolor'' *'' Pinalia biglandulosa'' *'' Pinalia bilobulata'' *'' Pinalia bipunctata'' *'' Pinalia bogoriensis'' *'' Pinalia bractescens'' *'' Pinalia braddonii'' *'' Pinalia brownei'' *'' Pinalia carnicolor'' *'' Pinalia carnosula'' *'' Pinalia celebica'' *'' Pinalia cepifolia'' *'' Pinalia chrysocardium'' *'' Pinalia clavata'' *'' Pinalia cochinchinensis'' *'' Pinalia compacta'' *'' Pinalia compressiflora'' *'' Pinalia concolor'' *'' Pinalia conferta'' *'' Pinalia connata'' *'' Pinalia consanguinea'' *'' Pinalia curranii'' *'' Pinalia cycloglossa'' *'' Pinalia cylindrostachya'' *'' Pinalia dagamensis'' *'' Pinalia dasypus'' *'' Pinalia daymaniana'' *'' Pinalia deliana'' *'' Pinalia densa'' *'' Pinalia distans'' *'' Pinalia diversicolor'' *'' Pinalia djaratensis'' *'' Pinalia donnaiensis'' *'' Pinalia dura'' *'' Pinalia earine'' *'' Pinalia elata'' *'' Pinalia erecta'' *'' Pinalia eriopsidobulbon'' *'' Pinalia erosula'' *'' Pinalia eurostachys'' *'' Pinalia euryloba'' *'' Pinalia excavata'' *''

Pinalia fitzalanii ''Pinalia fitzalanii'', commonly known as the common fuzz orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte. It has crowded pseudobulbs, each with three or four stiff, egg-shaped leaves sheathing the pseudobulb ...

'' *'' Pinalia flavescens'' *'' Pinalia floribunda'' *'' Pinalia formosana'' *'' Pinalia glabra'' *'' Pinalia globulifera'' *'' Pinalia gracilicaulis'' *'' Pinalia graciliscapa'' *'' Pinalia graminifolia'' *'' Pinalia grandicaulis'' *'' Pinalia hosei'' *'' Pinalia hutchinsoniana'' *'' Pinalia ignea'' *'' Pinalia japonica'' *'' Pinalia jarensis'' *'' Pinalia jimcootesii'' *'' Pinalia lamonganensis'' *'' Pinalia lancilabris'' *'' Pinalia latiuscula'' *'' Pinalia ledermannii'' *'' Pinalia leucantha'' *'' Pinalia lineata'' *'' Pinalia lineoligera'' *'' Pinalia longicruris'' *'' Pinalia longilabris'' *'' Pinalia longlingensis'' *'' Pinalia lyonii'' *'' Pinalia maboroensis'' *'' Pinalia macera'' *'' Pinalia mafuluensis'' *'' Pinalia maingayi'' *'' Pinalia maquilingensis'' *'' Pinalia meghasaniensis'' *'' Pinalia mentaweiensis'' *'' Pinalia merapiensis'' *'' Pinalia merguensis'' *'' Pinalia merrittii'' *'' Pinalia microchila'' *'' Pinalia microglossa'' *'' Pinalia minahassae'' *'' Pinalia moluccana'' *'' Pinalia multiflora'' *'' Pinalia murkelensis'' *'' Pinalia myristiciformis'' *'' Pinalia mysorensis'' *'' Pinalia nielsenii'' *'' Pinalia obesa'' *'' Pinalia obscura'' *'' Pinalia obvia'' *'' Pinalia occidentalis'' *'' Pinalia ochracea'' *'' Pinalia oligotricha'' *'' Pinalia opeatoloba'' *'' Pinalia oreogena'' *'' Pinalia ovata'' *'' Pinalia pachyphylla'' *'' Pinalia pachystachya'' *'' Pinalia palmifolia'' *'' Pinalia pandurata'' *'' Pinalia petiolata'' *'' Pinalia philippinensis'' *'' Pinalia phreatiopsis'' *'' Pinalia piruensis'' *'' Pinalia pokharensis'' *''

Pinalia polystachya ''Pinalia'', commonly known as gremlin orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are large epiphytic or lithophytic plants with prominent pseudobulbs, each with up to three thin, flat leaves and cup ...

'' *'' Pinalia polyura'' *'' Pinalia porphyroglossa'' *'' Pinalia praecox'' *'' Pinalia profusa'' *'' Pinalia pumila'' *'' Pinalia quinquangularis'' *'' Pinalia quinquelamellosa'' *'' Pinalia ramosa'' *'' Pinalia ramulosa'' *'' Pinalia recurvata'' *'' Pinalia reticosa'' *'' Pinalia rhodoptera'' *'' Pinalia rhynchostyloides'' *'' Pinalia rimannii'' *'' Pinalia ringens'' *'' Pinalia rolfei'' *'' Pinalia saccifera'' *'' Pinalia scotiifolia'' *'' Pinalia semirepens'' *'' Pinalia serrulata'' *'' Pinalia shanensis'' *'' Pinalia sharmae'' *'' Pinalia shiuyingiana'' *'' Pinalia simondii'' *'' Pinalia simplex'' *'' Pinalia sopoetanica'' *'' Pinalia sordida'' *'' Pinalia spicata'' *'' Pinalia sublobulata'' *'' Pinalia sumbawensis'' *'' Pinalia sundaica'' *'' Pinalia sutepensis'' *'' Pinalia szetschuanica'' *'' Pinalia taylorii'' *'' Pinalia tenuiflora'' *'' Pinalia toxopei'' *'' Pinalia tricolor'' *'' Pinalia triloba'' *'' Pinalia trilophota'' *'' Pinalia truncicola'' *'' Pinalia vagans'' *'' Pinalia vaginifera'' *'' Pinalia versicolor'' *'' Pinalia wildgrubeana'' *'' Pinalia wildiana'' *'' Pinalia woodiana'' *'' Pinalia xanthocheila'' *'' Pinalia yunnanensis''

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3283496 Podochileae genera Epiphytic orchids