Terrestrial herbs, with fasciculate fleshy roots or root tubers
Leaves radical, 1-few
Inflorescence a short or elongated raceme; flowers pink to mauve or white; bracts small and narrow
Sepals subequal; median one often forming hood with petals; laterals oblique, spreading
Petals entire, narrower than median sepal
Lip usually larger than sepals and petals, spurred at base, 3-5-lobed
Gynostemium short and broad; anther thecae parallel and adjacent, anther canals short or long; pollinia 2, sectile, connected to slender caudicles attached to separate viscidia; stigmatic areas on 2 oblong or clavate processes; rostellum several-lobed
Capsule erect, oblong, sometimes shortly beaked
x = 7 (1 report)
Nomenclature:
Cynorkis Thouars
Thouars: 317 (1809)
Rolfe: 143 (1912) as Cynorchis
Phillips: 231 (1951) as Cynorchis
Stewart et al.: 79 (1982)
Linder & Kurzweil: 144 (1999)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species ± 125, mostly Madagascar and Mascarene Islands, spreading into Africa
Southern Africa: Species 2 widespread in northern and eastern parts
References:
LINDER, H.P. & KURZWEIL, H. 1999. Orchids of southern Africa. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam
PHILLIPS, E.P. 1951. The genera of South African flowering plants. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa No. 25
ROLFE, R.A. 1912. Order CXXXI. Orchideae. Flora capensis 5,3
THOUARS, L.-M., A.A. DU PETIT-, 1809. Extrait des trois mémoires. Nouveau Bulletin des Sciences 1. Paris
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
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