Herbs, epiphytic, monopodial, small to medium-sized. Stems pendulous or ascending, sometimes climbing, short or elongate, with a few to many nodes. Leaves several to many, distichous, narrowly oblong, flat, leathery, with sheathing base, usually unequally bilobed or retuse. Inflorescences lateral, paniculate or racemose, pendulous or ascending, many flowered; peduncle long. Flowers resupinate or not, usually opening widely, small. Sepals and petals free, similar, spreading. Lip firmly attached to column, immovable, fleshy, shortly spurred or saccate, 3-lobed; lateral lobes erect, deltoid, small; mid-lobe often recurved, usually suborbicular or ovate-triangular, fleshy; front wall fleshy, thickened, back wall with a projecting, erect, bifurcate, ligulate appendage reaching or exserted beyond entrance. Column short, stout, foot absent; anther cap shortly beaked; rostellum large, hamulate, ± bifid, shorter than diam. of column; pollinia 4, as 2 discrete unequal pollen masses, waxy, subglobose, with a long common stipe and a solitary small, usually concave viscidium.
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Single-stemmed or clumping, epiphytic or lithophytic orchids with coarse, spreading roots. Stems fibrous, leafy. Leaves thick, leathery. Inflorescence racemose or paniculate, multiflowered, erect or pendulous. Flowers resupinate, small, long-lived, with labellum pointing towards apex of raceme. Sepals and petals free, of similar size and shape (petals often slightly smaller). Labellum attached to base of column by its base and basal parts of lateral lobes. Labellum lamina 3-lobed; lateral lobes small, partly attached to column; midlobe fleshy; spur prominent, deeply pouched. Column short, without basal foot. Pollinia 4 in 2 unequal pairs, hard, waxy, orange, attached via narrow stipe to small viscidium.
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