Appendicula

Appendicula
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Podochileae
Subtribe: Eriinae
Genus: Appendicula
Blume[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Metachilum Lindl.
  • Conchochilus Hassk.
  • Scoliochilus Rchb.f.
  • Lobogyne Schltr.
  • Chilopogon Schltr.
  • Cyphochilus Schltr.

Appendicula, commonly known as stream orchids or 牛齿兰属 (niu chi lan shu), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic, lithophytic or rarely terrestrial plants herbs with many flat, often twisted leaves and small resupinate, white or greenish flowers. The sepals are free from each other but the lateral sepals and labellum are fused to the base of the column.[2][3][4]

The genus Appendicula was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume who published the description in Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië.[1][5] The name Appendicula is the diminutive form of the Latin word appendix meaning "appendage" or "addition", hence "little appendage",[6] referring to the "inward-facing appendages on the labellum".[4]

Orchids in the genus Appendicula occur from tropical and subtropical Asia to the western Pacific.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d "Appendicula". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. ^ Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 461. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. ^ "Appendicula". Flora of China. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Appendicula". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  5. ^ Blume, Carl Ludwig (1825). Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië (Part 7). Batavia. pp. 297–298. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  6. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 88.