e-Key v3 - Key to Orchidaceae Genera (Key 2)
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Interactive keys to the identification of seed plants of southern Africa using keys based on plant morphology.

Artificial key to all southern African genera.

Backtrack a
  • Terrestrial herbs, rarely lianas creeping in bushes but rooting in ground
  • If growing on trees or rocks then with fleshy root tubers and thin, soft leaves
002
b
  • Plants epiphytic on trees or shrubs, sometimes epilithic
  • Always without root tubers
002
Backtrack a
  • Pollinia in pouch-like structures without removable cap
  • Underground organs almost always root tubers, rarely clusters of thick roots with furry sheath or bundles of thick fleshy roots (in the latter case leaves arranged in basal rosette)
002
b
  • Pollinia at apex of gynostemium under removable anther cap
  • If anther cap insignificant or absent, underground organs not root tubers
002
Backtrack a
  • Gynostemium with significant basal column-part which is longer than wide
  • Anther pendent
002
b
  • Gynostemium without prominent column-part
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip galeate, usually with 2 sacs or spurs at base
Satyrium
b
  • Lip flat, spurless
  • Perianth lobes similar
Pachites
Backtrack a
  • Lip or its side lobes with fringed or lacerated margin
002
b
  • Lip not with fringed margin, if lobed then with less than 6 lobes
002
Backtrack a
  • Median sepal spurred
Disa sect. Herschelianthe (in part)
b
  • Median sepal not spurred
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip with large appendage
Pterygodium
(in part)
b
  • Lip not appendiculate
002
Backtrack a
  • Leaves cauline
002
b
  • Leaves 1 or 2, basal, adpressed to ground
002
Backtrack a
  • Petals fringed
Huttonaea
b
  • Petals not fringed
Centrostigma
Backtrack a
  • Flowers large, almost always solitary
Bartholina
b
  • Flowers small, 3 to numerous
Holothrix
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lateral sepals each with spur or sac
Disperis
b
  • Lateral sepals without spurs or sacs
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip spurred
002
b
  • Lip not spurred
002
Backtrack a
  • Receptive surface of stigmas on 2 projecting, club-shaped organs
002
b
  • Receptive surface of stigmas flat or concave, in cavity below rostellum
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers green, yellowish green, or green and white
002
b
  • Flowers pink or white, often with darker markings
002
Backtrack a
  • Lateral sepals and lower petal lobes fused to stigmatic arms
Bonatea
b
  • Lateral sepals and lower petal lobes not fused to stigmatic arms
Habenaria
Backtrack a
  • Leaves numerous, in basal rosette
Stenoglottis
(in part)
b
  • Leaves 1 or 2, at base of stem
Cynorkis
Backtrack a
  • Leaves scattered along stem
Brachycorythis
(in part)
b
  • Leaves basal or clustered in lower stem portion
002
Backtrack a
  • Petals as long as or longer than sepals
  • Inflorescences erect
  • Leaves 1 or 2, adpressed to ground
Holothrix
(in part)
b
  • Petals shorter than sepals
  • Inflorescences normally nodding
Schizochilus
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lip without appendage
002
b
  • Lip with prominent appendage
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip basally erect and fused to gynostemium, anchor-shaped
Ceratandra
(in part)
b
  • Lip not as above
002
Backtrack a
  • Stigmas 2, club-shaped
Stenoglottis
(in part)
b
  • Stigma 1, not club-shaped
002
Backtrack a
  • Leaves grass-like, linear or narrowly lorate, basal
002
b
  • Leaves not basal and grass-like
002
Backtrack a
  • Inflorescence apex nodding
  • Sepals 2-4 mm long
Schizochilus
(in part)
b
  • Inflorescence erect
  • Flowers mostly larger
Disa
sect. Herschelianthe
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lip linear or narrowly lorate, erect in front of gynostemium and shorter than it
Brownleea
b
  • Lip spreading or patent, as long as or longer than gynostemium
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip 3-lobed with prominent lobes
002
b
  • Lip entire or with minute side lobes
002
Backtrack a
  • Stem densely leafy
Brachycorythis
(in part)
b
  • Stem only with sheaths
Schizochilus
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lip fiddle-shaped, with large tooth-like apex
Schizodium
b
  • Lip linear to elliptic, apex not tooth-like
002
Backtrack a
  • Leaf 1
  • Petals about half as long as sepals
  • Inflorescence slightly nodding
Dracomonticola
b
  • Leaves 2 to several
  • Petals ± as long as sepals
  • Inflorescence erect
002
Backtrack a
  • Leaves 2 or 3, basal
  • Median sepal unspurred
  • Anther erect
Neobolusia
b
  • Leaves several
  • Median sepal usually spurred
  • Anther mostly reflexed to a horizontal or pendent position
Disa
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lip anchor-shaped or broadly rhomboid
  • Leaves cauline, linear and ± equally long
002
b
  • Lip not as above
  • Leaves various
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip appendage bilobed
  • Plant with cluster of thick roots with furry sheath
Ceratandra
(in part)
b
  • Lip appendage entire but apically bifid
  • Plants with root tubers
Evotella
Backtrack a
  • Median sepal and petals forming shallow, concave hood
Pterygodium
(in part)
b
  • Median sepal and petals forming deep globose hood, widespread
  • If median sepal rather shallow, then lip appendage with prominent median keel on front side, flowers not resupinate and plants from southern Drakensberg (KwaZulu-Natal) and Eastern Cape
Corycium
Backtrack a
  • Plants saprophytic, without green organs
002
b
  • Plants not saprophytic
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers in upright position
  • Fruiting pedicel elongating to 90-200 mm when mature
Didymoplexis
b
  • Flowers bell-shaped and drooping
  • Pedicels not elongating in fruit
Gastrodia
Backtrack a
  • Liana with leafless, green, succulent stems
Vanilla
b
  • Slender terrestrial herbs
002
Backtrack a
  • Plants with large single leaf appearing after flowering
Nervilia
b
  • Plants with several leaves which are always present at flowering
002
Backtrack a
  • Stems reed-like, 0.3-1 m long
  • Flowers white, with narrow sepals and petals over 45 mm long
Corymborkis
b
  • Stems not reed-like
002
Backtrack a
  • Stems creeping in leaf litter and turning erect to flower
002
b
  • Stems not creeping and turning erect to flower
002
Backtrack a
  • Lateral sepals almost free
Platylepis
b
  • Lateral sepals united for at least half their length
Cheirostylis
Backtrack a
  • Gynostemium fused to lip
Calanthe
b
  • Gynostemium not fused to lip
002
Backtrack a
  • Inflorescence terminal
002
b
  • Inflorescence lateral
002
Backtrack a
  • Median sepal and petals connivent and forming hood
  • Flowers nearly hidden by bracts
Zeuxine
b
  • Median sepal and petals not forming hood
  • Bracts small
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip spurless
  • Plants pseudobulbous
  • Leaves thin-tissued
Liparis
b
  • Lip with short spur
  • Plants without pseudobulbs
  • Leaves leathery
Acrolophia
Backtrack a
  • Pseudobulbs usually consisting of single node
  • Lip mostly 4-lobed
Oeceoclades
b
  • Pseudobulbs/underground corms consisting of more than one node
  • Lip usually 3-lobed
Eulophia
Backtrack a
  • Plants with fan of succulent and laterally compressed leaves
  • Inflorescences terminal, with more than 50 small yellow flowers
  • Mpumalanga
Oberonia
b
  • Plants usually with flat, keeled or cylindrical leaves, or leafless
  • If rarely with fan of succulent and laterally compressed leaves then inflorescences lateral and flowers less than 20
002
Backtrack a
  • Pseudobulbs present
002
b
  • Pseudobulbs absent
002
Backtrack a
  • Inflorescence lateral
Bulbophyllum
b
  • Inflorescence terminal
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers resupinate, large
  • Median sepal longer than 20 mm
  • Roots growing upwards to form root-basket
Ansellia
b
  • Flowers not resupinate, small or medium-sized
  • Median sepal shorter than 20 mm
  • Roots growing downwards
Polystachya
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Inflorescence terminal
  • Growth sympodial
  • Flowers not resupinate
Polystachya
(in part)
b
  • Inflorescences lateral
  • Growth monopodial
002
Backtrack a
  • Plants with fan of succulent, equitant and laterally compressed leaves
Bolusiella
b
  • Plants not with fan of succulent leaves
  • Leaves flat, keeled, cylindrical or absent
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers yellow with purple markings
  • Spur saccate
Acampe
b
  • Flowers uniformly white, cream-coloured, or pale green, sometimes with darker tinges on apices of tepals and spur
  • Spur various
002
Backtrack a
  • Plants leafless
002
b
  • Plants with green leaves
002
Backtrack a
  • Stem very elongate, up to 400 mm long
  • Roots emerging all along its length
Solenangis
b
  • Stem shorter or plants almost stemless
  • Roots from base
002
Backtrack a
  • Spur 1-6 mm long
Microcoelia
b
  • Spur 17-45 mm long
002
Backtrack a
  • Anther cap bright green
  • Perianth campanulate with broadly rounded lobes
Diaphananthe
(in part)
b
  • Anther cap yellow, brown or dull green
  • Perianth lobes narrow and pointed
Mystacidium
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lip wide at base and encircling gynostemium
  • Rostellum very short and emarginate
Angraecum
b
  • Lip arising below gynostemium, and normally not encircling it
  • Rostellum various
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers 1 or rarely 2 per inflorescence
  • Rostellum short and emarginate
Jumellea
b
  • Flowers normally 3 or more
  • Rostellum mostly beaked
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers white
  • Apical half of lip not or only shallowly 3-lobed
002
b
  • Flowers green, cream, pale brown or yellow
  • Apical half of lip various
002
Backtrack a
  • Sepals and petals narrow and pointed, similar to lip
Cyrtorchis
b
  • Sepals and petals not as above
002
Backtrack a
  • Leaves conduplicate but flat in upper part
  • Stipe 1, entire
Aerangis
b
  • Leaves V-shaped throughout
  • Stipes 1 or 2
002
Backtrack a
  • Stipe 1, Y-shaped, divided for nearly half its length
  • Spur usually shorter than 45 mm
Ypsilopus
b
  • Stipes 2, free to near base
  • Spur 8-90 mm long
002
Backtrack a
  • Flowers star-like with broadly ovate-lanceolate perianth lobes
  • Lateral sepals 9-11 mm long
  • Spur 50-90 mm long
Rangaeris
b
  • Flowers not as above
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip ecallose
  • Anther cap not bright green
  • Spur mouth wide
  • Sepals and petals mostly acute and often reflexed
Mystacidium
(in part)
b
  • Lip mostly callose at base, if rarely without callus then anther cap conspicuously green and perianth campanulate with broadly obtuse sepals and petals
Diaphananthe
(in part)
Backtrack a
  • Lip apically deeply 3-lobed, side lobes often fringed
  • Stipe and viscidium solitary
Tridactyle
b
  • Lip apically not deeply 3-lobed
  • Stipes 2
002
Backtrack a
  • Lip without callus
  • Anther cap not bright green
  • Spur mouth wide
  • Sepals and petals often reflexed, acute
Mystacidium
(in part)
b
  • Lip mostly with callus in spur mouth, if rarely without callus then anther cap conspicuously green, and sepals and petals broadly obtuse
Diaphananthe
(in part)

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