Ghost orchid | |
---|---|
Epipogium roseum growing near Hiratsuka-city, Japan | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
Genus: | Epipogium |
Species: | E. roseum
|
Binomial name | |
Epipogium roseum | |
Synonyms[1] | |
List
|
Epipogium roseum, commonly known as ghost orchid, leafless nodding orchid[2] or 虎舌兰 (hu she lan),[3] is a leafless terrestrial mycotrophic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has up to sixteen cream-coloured, yellowish or pinkish flowers with an enlarged ovary on a fleshy hollow flowering stem. This ghost orchid is widely distributed in tropical Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia and some Pacific Islands.