Herbs, epiphytic, lithophytic, or terrestrial, cespitose or creeping, sympodial. Roots numerous, white, velamentous. Stems highly reduced, rhizomatous, pseudobulbs, short-cylindric, laterally compressed, covered by scalelike sheathing bracts. Leaves deciduous, solitary, conduplicate, articulate; blade elliptic to broadly oblanceolate, large, fleshy, leathery, margins entire. Inflorescences axillary, from base of pseudobulb, racemes or panicles, loosely or densely few-to many-flowered; floral bracts without sheathing base, ovate to linear-lanceolate, small, apex acute. Flowers resupinate, generally large, fleshy, showy; sepals and petals spreading, distinct and free, often spotted; lip spotted or immaculate, unlobed to pandurate and 2–3-lobed; basal crest sometimes present, and if present variable in shape, often large, some species with slender spur formed by base of lip; column erect, winged; stigma simple, concave; anther operculate; pollinarium composed of small triangular to reniform viscidium, short convex stipe, and 2 obovoid pollinia. Fruits capsules, pendent, ellipsoid.
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Small, epiphytic herbs with very short, monophyllous stems which are thick-ened into short, inconspicuous pseudobulbs. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate to ligular, coriaceous or fleshy. Inflorescences usually simple, rarely branching, 1-or rarely 2-flowered scapes, usually very short, but sometimes nearly equaling the leaves. Flowers of moderate size to relatively large. Sepals subequal, free, spreading. Petals subequal to the sepals. Lip entire or obscurely 3-lobed, produced at the base into a spur. Column stout or slender, erect, the apex clavate or with prominent lateral wings or auricles, the base without a foot. Anther terminal, operculate, incumbent, 1-celled, often pubescent or papillose; pollinia 2, waxy.
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