Zeuxine Lindl.

Herbs, terrestrial or rarely lithophytic. Rhizome usually elongate, creeping, fleshy, several noded; roots emerging from rhizome nodes, cylindric, stout. Stem erect or ascending, terete, leafy, glabrous. Leaves cauline or subrosulate, withered or pendulous at anthesis in some species, adaxially green to blackish, sometimes with a white stripe along midvein, linear-lanceolate, obliquely ovate-lanceolate, or elliptic, with or without a petiole-like base sheathing stem, sometimes slightly fleshy. Inflorescence glabrous or pubescent, with a few crowded to scattered sheathing bracts and a few to many flowers in a short to elongate terminal raceme; floral bracts usually equal in length to pedicel and ovary. Flowers resupinate or occasionally erect, small, not opening widely; ovary twisted, glabrous or pubescent. Sepals free, similar, outer surface glabrous to pubescent; dorsal sepal concave, forming a hood with petals; lateral sepals enclosing base of lip. Petals connivent with dorsal sepal, nearly as long as dorsal sepal though usually narrower; lip usually adnate to column margin at base, 2-or 3-partite or rarely entire; hypochile concave-saccate to cymbiform, containing 1 to a few scalelike, subulate or lamellate calli on each side at base; mesochile (when present) short, margin often involute and forming a tube, externally glabrous or pubescent and sometimes with a lamellate flange on each side; epichile dilated, entire to 2-lobed. Column short, dilated, with or without a pair of lateral wings; anther ovoid, 2-locular; pollinia 2, each longitudinally parted, granular-farinaceous, sectile, attached either directly to viscidium or via a short tegula; viscidium ligulate-lanceolate to ovate; rostellum conspicuous, erect, bifid; stigma lobes separate, convex, lateral or at apical corners of column. Capsule erect.

These orchids grow in shady, humid forests, particularly rainforest.