Vanilloideae is one of the subfamilies of orchids belonging to the large family
Orchidaceae
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.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
.
Lindley (1836) and Garay (1986)
[Garay,L. (1986), Olim Vanillaceae. Botanical Museum Leaflets. Harvard University 30 : 233-237.] treated it as a separate family, Vanillaceae. But their single, incumbent
anther and poorly organised
pollinia A pollinium (plural 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 mi ...
led to their recognition as at best a subgroup of
monandrous
In botanical terms, monandrous simply means to have a single stamen.
In orchids
A distinction between monandrous and other flowers is particularly relevant in the classification of orchids. The monandrous orchids form a clade consisting of the ...
orchids. From a molecular point of view, this
clade is rather a sister to subfamily
Epidendroideae
Epidendroideae is a subfamily of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Epidendroideae is larger than all the other orchid subfamilies together, comprising more than 15,000 species in 576 genera. Most epidendroid orchids are tropical epiphyt ...
and 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), fertile anther which is erect and basitonic.
Description
The subf ...
in the Orchidaceae, and thus it is today also considered a subfamily.
The subfamily Vanilloideae consists of 15 genera and about 180 species, belonging to the tribes Pogonieae and Vanilleae.
Their distribution is pantropical, throughout Asia, Australia and the Americas.
The species in the tribe Pogonieae have a characteristic laciniate lip margin. The color of their
petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...
s and
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 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...
s is pink or rarely white or bluish. Their sepals have an oblong, elliptic, or narrowly lanceolate form.
The species in the tribe Vanilleae are long plants characterized by long, thick, succulent
vine
A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...
s and a lip without spur.
Classification
Tribe
Pogonieae
Pogonieae is an orchid tribe in the subfamily Vanilloideae.
Genera
Genera included in Pogonieae:
* ''Cleistes''
* ''Cleistesiopsis''
* '' Duckeella''
* '' Isotria''
* '' Pogonia''
'' Pogoniopsis'' was previously included in Pogonieae, but is n ...
(77 species)
* Genera : ''
Cleistes
''Cleistes'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae). It contains approximately 40–50 species, most of them native to South America, with a few species extending north into Costa Rica and Trinidad.
Two North American species were formerly in ...
'', ''
Cleistesiopsis
''Cleistesiopsis'' is an orchid genus in the tribe Pogonieae. Its members were included in ''Cleistes'' until 2009. ''Cleistesiopsis'' is native to the eastern and southeastern United States from New Jersey south to Florida, and west to Kentucky ...
'', ''
Duckeella'', ''
Isotria'', and ''
Pogonia''
Tribe
Vanilleae
Vanilleae is an orchid tribe of 9 genera in the subfamily Vanilloideae.
Classification
Tribe Vanilleae
:Genus '' Clematepistephium'' (1 species) (Endemic to New Caledonia)
:*''Clematepistephium smilacifolium''
:Genus '' Cyrtosia'' (5 specie ...
(172 species)
* Genera : ''
Clematepistephium
''Clematepistephium'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains only one known species, ''Clematepistephium smilacifolium'', endemic to the island of New Caledonia. Its closest relative is ''Eriaxis'',Camero ...
'', ''
Cyrtosia'', ''
Epistephium
''Epistephium'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to South America, with a few species in Belize and Trinidad.
#''Epistephium amabile'' Schltr.
#''Epistephium amplexicaule'' Poepp. & Endl.
#''Episte ...
'', ''
Eriaxis
''Eriaxis'' is a monotypic genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae
Vanilloideae is one of the subfamilies of orchids belonging to the large family Orchidaceae.
Lindley (1836) and Garay (1986)Garay,L. (198 ...
'', ''
Erythrorchis'', ''
Galeola
''Galeola'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae.
All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to ...
'', ''
Lecanorchis
''Lecanorchis'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae.
The scientific name is derived from the Greek words ''lekane'' (basin) and ''orchis'' (orchid).
They occur in mountain forest of the Himalayas ...
'', ''
Pseudovanilla
''Pseudovanilla'', commonly known as giant climbing orchids, is a genus of eight climbing orchids in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus have tall climbing stems with clinging roots, leaf-like bracts and branching flowering stems wi ...
'' and
''Vanilla''.
References
* Pridgeon, Alec M.; Cribb, Phillip J.; Chase, Mark.W; Rasmussen, Finn.N - ''Genera Orchidacearum: Orchidoideae Vanilloideae'' - Oxford University Press 2003 -
{{taxonbar, from=Q133360
Asparagales subfamilies