Cheirostylis
Cheirostylis, commonly known as fleshy jewel orchids or velvet orchids, is a genus of about sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a caterpillar-like rhizome and a loose rosette of leaves. Small, white, hairy flowers develop as the leaves wither. They are found in tropical Africa, southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, New Guinea and Australia.
Description
Orchids in the genus Cheirostylis are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a creeping, caterpillar-like, above-ground rhizome anchored to the ground by fine white root hairs. The leaves are thinly textured and arranged in a loose rosette with a short petiole but are usually withered by flowering time. The flowers are resupinate and usually small, white and hairy with the dorsal sepal and lateral sepals fused for about half their length. The petals are free from each other but are narrower than the sepals. The tip of the labellum has two lobes and a narrow base forming a shallow depression containing two calli.
Taxonomy and naming
The genus Cheirostylis was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume and the description was published in Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië.
The first species of Cheirostylis described by Blume was C. montana, making it the type species.
Distribution
Cheirostylis orchids occur in tropical Africa through tropical Asia from Japan to New Guinea and some Pacific Islands. Seventeen species, eight of which are endemic occur in China and two species are endemic to Australia.
The following is a list of species recognised by the Plants of the World Online as at November 2023:Cheirostylis acuminata BlumeCheirostylis barbata Q.Liu & X.F.WuCheirostylis bidentata J.J.Sm.Cheirostylis bipunctata Aver.Cheirostylis boryi Hermans & P.J.CribbCheirostylis calcarata X.H.Jin & S.C.ChenCheirostylis celebensis P.O'Byrne & J.J.Verm.Cheirostylis chinensis RolfeCheirostylis chuxiongensis J.D.YaCheirostylis clibborndyeri S.Y.Hu & BarettoCheirostylis cochinchinensis BlumeCheirostylis cristata Aver.Cheirostylis dendrophila Schltr.Cheirostylis divina Summerh.Cheirostylis filipetala Aver.Cheirostylis flabellata WightCheirostylis foliosa Aver.Cheirostylis glandulifera Aver.Cheirostylis glandulosa J.M.H.ShawCheirostylis goldschmidtiana Schltr.Cheirostylis grandiflora BlumeCheirostylis griffithii Lindl.Cheirostylis gunnarii A.N.RaoCheirostylis gymnochiloides Rchb.f.Cheirostylis jamesleungii S.Y.Hu & BarrettoCheirostylis javanica J.J.Sm.Cheirostylis kabaenae OrmerodCheirostylis latipetala Aver. & AveryanovaCheirostylis lepida RolfeCheirostylis liukiuensis Masam.Cheirostylis malipoensis X.H.Jin & S.C.ChenCheirostylis marmorifolia Aver.Cheirostylis merrillii OrmerodCheirostylis moniliformis Seidenf.Cheirostylis montana Blume Cheirostylis monteiroi S.Y.Hu & BarrettoCheirostylis nantouensis T.P.LinCheirostylis notialis D.L.Jones – southern fleshy jewel orchidCheirostylis nuda OrmerodCheirostylis octodactyla AmesCheirostylis orobanchoides D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.Cheirostylis ovata Schltr. – banded fleshy jewel orchidCheirostylis parvifolia Lindl.Cheirostylis pingbianensis K.Y.LangCheirostylis pubescens E.C.Parish & Rchb.f.Cheirostylis pusilla Lindl.Cheirostylis raymundii Schltr.Cheirostylis serpens Aver.Cheirostylis sessanica A.N.RaoCheirostylis sherriffii N.Pearce & P.J.CribbCheirostylis spathulata J.J.Sm.Cheirostylis tabiyahanensis N.Pearce & P.J.CribbCheirostylis takeoi Schltr.Cheirostylis thailandica Seidenf.Cheirostylis thanmoiensis OrmerodCheirostylis tippica A.N.RaoCheirostylis tortilacinia C.S.LeouCheirostylis wenshanensis J.B.Chen, L.J.Chen & W.H.RaoCheirostylis yei J.D.Ya, Z.D.Han & H.JiangCheirostylis yunnanensis Rolfe