Microchilus


Microchilus is a neotropical genus of about 261 species belonging to the orchid family. The native range of this genus is tropical & subtropical America.
It was first described by Carl [Borivoj Presl] in 1827, but the genus was not widely recognized until it was separated in 2002 by P. Ormerod from the genus Erythrodes s. str.. It corresponds to its New World species. The two genera were distinguished by the different characters of the column and pollinia. It need dissecting the flowers, to see the differences at generic level with Erythrodes.
In 2005, another 32 new species were added to this genus by Ormerod.
The horticultural abbreviation for this genus is '''Mcr.'''

Selected species