Home
Vines, climbing, herbaceous, to several meters long. Stem with an aerial root and a leaf at each node. Leaves large, fleshy, shortly petiolate [sometimes reduced to scales outside Flora area]. Racemes axillary, several to many flowered. Flowers resupinate, often large, often with an abscission layer between ovary and perianth. Sepals and petals similar, free, spreading. Lip often joined to sides of column with its basal margin, sometimes almost to top of column and ± trumpet-shaped, free part often dilated, spurless, sometimes 3-lobed, disk often with hairy appendages adaxially. Column long, slender, slightly curved near top; anther inserted pointing downward; pollinia 2 or 4, granular-farinaceous or loosely granular, without caudicle or viscidium; rostellum often broad, below anther. Fruit cylindric, fleshy, often indehiscent. Seeds with stout testa, often black, wingless.
Climbing vines with aerial or clinging adventitious roots arising at the nodes and opposite the leaves, if any. Leaves absent, or if present, sessile to shortly petiolate, fleshy. Inflorescences racemose, usually axillary, very occasionally terminal, few-to many-flowered, often only 1 or 2 flowers fully open at a time. Flowers large; white, yellow, or green, often marked with purple or yellow on the labellum. Sepals and petals similar, free. Labellum usually larger than the sepals and petals, adnate to column for part of its length and forming a funnel; disk variously appendaged with lamellae or hairs. Column elongate, curved, auriculate; anther attached to margin of clinandrium; stigma situated under the rostellum. Rostellum broad, membranous, articulated at the base, usually deflexed. Capsule long, cylindrical, unilocular, dehiscent; seeds black, relatively large.
Usually epiphytic, scandent, leafy (in Panama) or leafless herbs, often with branched stems. Leaves coriaceous or fleshy, sessile or short-petiolate. Inflorescence a (short) raceme from the axils of the leaves. Sepals subequal, spreading, free. Petals similar to the sepals. Lip with its claw adnate to the column, often en-folding the column. Column elongated, footless, wingless; anther incumbent (rarely appearing erect)'; pollinia granular. Capsule ("bean") elongated, fleshy, often fragrant.
