The Pleurothallidinae are a neotropical subtribe of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s 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 ...

) including 29 genera in more than 4000 species. Naturally occurring species of this subtribe are among the more popular orchids of horticulturalists, especially the genera ''Dracula'', ''Dryadella'', ''Masdevallia'' and ''Restrepia''. The following

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

are considered

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

: ''

Barbosella ''Barbosella'' is a genus of mostly creeping orchids. The genus has about 20 species, widespread across the West Indies and Latin America from Mexico and the Lesser Antilles to Argentina. Named after João Barbosa Rodrigues, an investigator of B ...

'' (including '' Barbrodia''), ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', '' Dresslerella'', '' Dryadella'', ''

Lepanthes ''Lepanthes'' (from Greek "scaled-flower") is a large genus of orchids with about 800–1000 species, distributed in the Antilles and from Mexico through Bolivia (with very few species in Brazil). The genus is abbreviated in horticultural trade a ...

'', ''

Masdevallia ''Masdevallia'', abbreviated Masd in horticultural trade, is a large genus of flowering plants of the Pleurothallidinae, a subtribe of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). There are over 500 species, grouped into several subgenera. The genus is na ...

'', ''

Platystele ''Platystele'' is a genus of orchids, comprising 123 species. Most of these have small flowers, some of the smallest in the family. The genus is widespread across Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and South America as far south as Bolivia, but infre ...

'', '' Porroglossum'', ''

Restrepia ''Restrepia'', abbreviated Rstp in horticultural trade, is a small genus of 50 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), closely related to ''Pleurothallis''. Named in honor of Don Jose Restrepo, it tends to be more showy than most other Pleu ...

'', ''

Scaphosepalum ''Scaphosepalum'' (from Greek language, Greek "boatlike sepals") is a genus of plants belonging to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae. The species in this genus are mostly found in Central America, Central and South America, with one specie ...

'', '' Trisetella'', and '' Zootrophion''. Many genera in the Pleurothallidinae were found

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 ...

, for example species attributed to the genus ''

Pleurothallis ''Pleurothallis'' is a genus of orchids commonly called bonnet orchids. The genus name is derived from the Greek word , meaning "riblike branches". This refers to the rib-like stems of many species. The genus is often abbreviated as "Pths" in hor ...

''are scattered across five clades.

Genera

Genera recognized in Chase et al.'s 2015 classification of orchids: ''

Acianthera ''Acianthera'' is a genus of orchids native to the tropical parts of the Western Hemisphere, especially Brazil.de Melo, M. C., Borba, E. L., & Paiva, E. A. S. (2010)Morphological and histological characterization of the osmophores and nectaries ...

'' – '' Anathallis'' – '' Andinia'' – ''

'' – ''

Brachionidium ''Brachionidium'' (or cup orchid) is a genus of about 72 species of orchids, found throughout much of Tropics, tropical Americas, America (Central America, the West Indies, and South America as far south as Brazil and Bolivia). Luteyn, J. L. 199 ...

'' – ''

Chamelophyton ''Chamelophyton'' is a genus 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 that ...

'' – ''

Dilomilis ''Dilomilis'' is a genus of orchids, (family Orchidaceae), consisting of five species in the Greater Antilles. The genus is named for its bicallose lip. # ''Dilomilis bissei'' H.Dietr. - Cuba # ''Dilomilis elata'' (Benth.) Summerh. - Cuba, Jama ...

'' – ''

Diodonopsis ''Diodonopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the 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 c ...

'' – ''

Draconanthes ''Draconanthes'' is a genus of orchids, comprising eight species found in northwestern South America. It was established as a subgenus within the genus ''Lepanthes ''Lepanthes'' (from Greek "scaled-flower") is a large genus of orchids with abo ...

'' – ''

'' – '' Dresslerella'' – '' Dryadella'' – ''

Echinosepala ''Echinosepala'' is a proposed genus of orchids comprising the subgenera ''Silenia'' and ''Satyria'' of the genus ''Myoxanthus''. There is little reason to resist this change, thus ''Echinosepala'' is widely accepted. The genus contains 8 specie ...

'' – ''

Frondaria ''Frondaria'' is a genus of orchid native to western South America. The species ''Frondaria caulescens'' is found at high altitudes from central Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is ...

'' – ''

Kraenzlinella ''Kraenzlinella'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae, first described as a genus in 1903. It is native to S Mexico, Central America, and South America.Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (20 ...

'' – ''

Lepanthopsis ''Lepanthopsis'', abbreviated as Lpths in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids with about 43 currently known species. They are distributed mostly in the Andes and the Caribbean, with some species in Central America, southern Mexico and Flor ...

'' – ''

Madisonia ''Madisonia'', synonym ''Sansonia'', is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae, native to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and tropical South America. The genus was established by Carlyle A. Luer in 2004. Species , Plants of the Wo ...

'' (as ''Sansonia'') – ''

'' – ''

Myoxanthus ''Myoxanthus'' (from Greek language, Greek for "dormouse" and "flower") is a genus of orchids with about 50 species, widely distributed in Central America, Central and South America. This genus is a close ally of ''Pleurothallis''. The genera '' ...

'' – ''

Neocogniauxia ''Neocogniauxia'' is a genus of orchids, (family Orchidaceae), consisting of two species in the Greater Antilles. The genus is named for botanist Alfred Cogniaux. Species References * Nir, M. Orchidaceae Antillanae, 252–253, 2000 Exte ...

'' – ''

Octomeria ''Octomeria'' (from Greek "eight part", referring to its 8 pollinia) is a plant genus belonging to the family Orchidaceae. The genus comprises about 150 species native to the Neotropics, mostly in Brazil.Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & ...

'' – ''

Pabstiella ''Pabstiella'' is a small orchid genus belonging to the subfamily Epidendroideae. They occur in Central and Tropical America. While the "Checklist of Monocotyledons" of Kew Botanical Gardens (2005) Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Ras ...

'' – '' Phloeophila'' – ''

'' – ''

'' – '' Pleurothallopsis'' – '' Porroglossum'' – ''

'' – ''

Restrepiella ''Restrepiella'' is a genus of orchid native to Mexico, Colombia, Florida and Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southea ...

'' – ''

'' – '' Specklinia'' – ''

Stelis ''Stelis'', or leach orchids, are a large genus of orchids, with 1339 accepted species. The generic name ''Stelis'' is the Greek word for 'mistletoe', referring to the epiphytic habit of these species. These mainly epiphytic (rarely lithophyti ...

'' – '' Teagueia'' – '' Tomzanonia'' – '' Trichosalpinx'' – '' Trisetella'' – '' Zootrophion'' Chase et al. adopt a broad circumscriptions within the subtribe; other sources separate genera such as '' Ophidion'' and '' Stellamaris''.

References

DNA-based reclassification of the Pleurothallidinae

Alec M. Pridgeon, Rodolfo Solano and Mark W. Chase - Phylogenetic relationships in Pleurothallidinae (Orchidaceae): combined evidence from nuclear and plastid DNA sequences; American Journal of Botany. 2001;88:2286-2308
Orchid subtribes {{Epidendreae-stub