List of Orchidaceae genera


This is a list of genera in the orchid family, originally according to - L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz. This list is adapted regularly with the changes published in the Orchid Research Newsletter which is published twice a year by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The most up to date list of accepted genera, natural nothogenera, species and natural nothospecies with their synonyms can be found on the World Checklist of Selected Plants Families and Plants of the World Online published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This list is reflected on Wikispecies Orchidaceae and the new eMonocot website
This taxonomy undergoes constant change, mainly through evidence from DNA study. Orchids were traditionally defined by morphological similarity. However, recent changes to nomenclature have been driven primarily by DNA studies and also by re-examination of herbarium specimens. This has led to a reduction of genera and species as well as re-circumscription of subfamilies, tribes and subtribes. Orchid taxonomy is still being revised and each year about another 150 new species are being discovered. The list of genera alone currently stands just short of 1000 entries.
From a cladistic point of view, the orchid family is considered to be monophyletic, i.e. the group incorporates all the taxa derived from an ancestral group.
The taxonomy of the orchids is explained on the page Taxonomy of the orchid family.

Subfamilies

There are five recognized subfamilies:
As of July 2025, Plants of the World Online accepts 693 genera and several inter-generic hybrids.

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