e-Key v3 - Ke<span id="jodit_selection_marker_1706524999431_9170267648123713" data-jodit_selection_marker="start" style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>y to Orchid<span id="jodit_selection_marker_1706524999431_30205039658065513" data-jodit_selection_marker="end" style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>aceae Genera (Key 2)
SANBI Flora Keys Logo
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)

Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), unless stated otherwise.
Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) or refer to the 'How to cite this resource' paragraph on the Home page.
Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.