# Epidendroideae > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Epidendroideae > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Epidendroideae.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidendroideae > Source revision: 1270441656 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Subfamily of orchids Epidendroideae Epidendrum schomburgkii Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Monocots Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Kostel. Type genus Epidendrum L.[1] Tribes See text Synonyms Vandoideae **Epidendroideae** is a [subfamily](/source/Subfamily) of plants in the orchid family, [Orchidaceae](/source/Orchidaceae). Epidendroideae is larger than all the other orchid subfamilies together, comprising more than 15,000 [species](/source/Species) in 576 [genera](/source/Genera). Most epidendroid orchids are tropical [epiphytes](/source/Epiphyte), typically with [pseudobulbs](/source/Pseudobulb). There are, however, some [terrestrials](/source/Terrestrial_plant) such as *[Epipactis](/source/Epipactis)* and even a few [myco-heterotrophs](/source/Myco-heterotrophs), which are [parasitic](/source/Parasitic) upon [mycorrhizal](/source/Mycorrhizal) [fungi](/source/Fungi). They typically contain the remaining orchids with a single, fertile [anther](/source/Anther) ( = monandrous), which is also fully incumbent ( = strongly convex) to suberect (= ascending towards the edges). The anther form arises from [column](/source/Column_(botany)) elongation or, as in the vandoids, from early anther bending. The incumbent anther forms a right angle with the column axis or is pointed backward in many genera. Most have hard [pollinia](/source/Pollinium), i.e. a mass of waxy [pollen](/source/Pollen) or of coherent pollen grains. The pollinia are with [caudicle](/source/Caudicle) and [viscidium](/source/Viscidium) or without. The [stigma](/source/Carpel) are entire or three-lobed; a [beak](/source/Rostellum) is present. The apical part of the middle stigma lobe forms a [stipe](/source/Stipe_(botany)) ( = pollinium stalk). The [ovary](/source/Ovary_(plants)) is [unilocular](/source/Locule). The [leaves](/source/Leaf) are distichous or spiraling, growing on thickened [stems](/source/Plant_stem). The Epidendroideae are difficult to classify. They have been divided in “lower epidendroids” and “higher epidendroids”. ## Description Epiphytes are plants which grow above the ground, on top of other plants. They are not planted in the soil and are not parasitic (i.e. they do not feed on other plants; however, some types still damage their host in various ways). By growing on other plants, the epiphytes can reach to the light better or where they can avoid struggling for light. Many mosses and lichens are epiphytes, as are approximately 10 per cent of all seed plants and ferns. Epiphytes are common in some groups of plants, such as ferns, mosses, lichens, and algae. Over half of the 20,000 species of orchids are epiphytes. ## Habitat Most epiphytic seed plants and ferns are found in tropical and subtropical rainforests because they need high humidity to survive. The areas which most epiphytes grow are the montane rainforests. Epiphytic orchids are found on many positions of the host tree, depending on species requirements and size, some large species will grow in a fork, whereas some small species scramble through thin branches, other species will climb up the trunk etc. etc. The trees provide many habitats with different conditions of temperature, contact and light. In temperate places, epiphytes are most common in moist forests, such as the rainforests in Queensland.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Adaptation Epiphytes are not adapted to droughts in the same way are other flora, because they don’t have access to the ground, but they still have some mechanisms to help them survive. Some become completely dormant for months at a time; many epiphytes show crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), which involves taking in CO2 at night, and photo-fixing it during the day with closed stomata to reduce water loss by transpiration. They also contain absorptive plants that are capable at quickly taking up water when it is available and preventing drought when water is scarcer. CAM can be impeded by higher night-time temperatures, dehydrated tissues, and high saturation deficits in the surrounding air, which lower the "stomata conductance" of the epiphytes, reducing the CO2 uptake, which in turn reduces growth and reproduction and even induces carbon loss. Higher temperatures, strain on evaporation, and contact to light cause CAM-idling, which is the epiphyte closing its stomata when it becomes stressed, that brings down the range of habitats a species can inhabit. Epiphyte species work biomasses are much more sensitive to different relative moisture levels than other plants.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Taxonomy It was published by [Vincenz Franz Kosteletzky](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vincenz_Franz_Kosteletzky&action=edit&redlink=1) in 1831 with *Epidendrum* L. as the type genus.[1] ### Tribe classification The subfamily Epidendroideae is divided into two clades or subgroups known as the higher epidendroids (vandoids) and the lower epidendroids. The lower epidendroids contain polyphyletic tribes, particularly the [Arethuseae](/source/Arethuseae) and [Epidendreae](/source/Epidendreae). The tribes are listed below: Epidendreae Maxillarieae Vandeae Collabieae Podochileae Calypsoeae Arethuseae Dendrobieae Malaxideae The tribes of the subfamily Epidendroideae (as of 2014) **Higher epidendroids (vandoids)** - [Cymbidieae](/source/Cymbidieae) - [Vandeae](/source/Vandeae) **Lower epidendroids** - [Arethuseae](/source/Arethuseae) (polyphyletic) - [Calypsoeae](/source/Calypsoeae) - [Collabieae](/source/Collabieae) - [Dendrobieae](/source/Dendrobieae) - [Epidendreae](/source/Epidendreae) (polyphyletic) - [Gastrodieae](/source/Gastrodieae) - [Malaxideae](/source/Malaxideae) - [Neottieae](/source/Neottieae) - [Nervilieae](/source/Nervilieae) - [Podochileae](/source/Podochileae) - [Sobraliinae](/source/Sobraliinae) - [Triphoreae](/source/Triphoreae) - [Tropidieae](/source/Tropidieae) - [Xerorchideae](/source/Xerorchideae) This classification has a rather ephemeral nature and is prone to frequent revision. Changes are likely to occur as new morphological and genetic data become available.[2][3][4] The genus *[Devogelia](/source/Devogelia)* is [not placed in a tribe](/source/Incertae_sedis).[5] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-IPNI_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-IPNI_1-1) subfam. Epidendroideae Kostel. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved January 4, 2025, from [https://www.ipni.org/n/330966-2](https://www.ipni.org/n/330966-2) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Cameron, Kenneth M. et al. *American Journal of Botany*. 1999. (86):p. 208–224. "A phylogenetic analysis of the Orchidaceae: evidence from rbcL nucleotide sequences". 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [A diagram showing higher and lower epidendroids and their phylogenetic relationships](https://archive.today/20130223132420/http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/86/2/208/F1) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-chase_4-0)** John V. Freudenstein, Mark W. Chase. *Annals of Botany*. 2015. (115):p. s 665–681. Phylogenetic relationships in Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae), one of the great flowering plant radiations: progressive specialization and diversification. [https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcu253](https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcu253) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Chase, Mark W.; Cameron, Kenneth M.; Freudenstein, John V.; Pridgeon, Alec M.; Salazar, Gerardo; van den Berg, Cássio; Schuiteman, André (2015). ["An updated classification of Orchidaceae"](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fboj.12234). *Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society*. **177** (2): 151–174. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/boj.12234](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fboj.12234). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0024-4074](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0024-4074). Incertae sedis (in Epidendroideae) Devogelia* Schuit. (1). ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Epidendroideae](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Epidendroideae). - [A phylogenetic analysis of the Orchidaceae - evidence from *rbcL* nucleotide sequences](https://web.archive.org/web/20040122025729/http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/86/2/208) - [Orchid Tree: a phylogeny of epiphytes on the tree of life](http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/orchidatol/pd/orchidATOLpd.htm) Taxon identifiers Epidendroideae Wikidata: Q131470 Wikispecies: Epidendroideae BioLib: 488433 BOLD: 264213 GRIN: 1825 iNaturalist: 738346 IPNI: 330966-2 NCBI: 158332 Open Tree of Life: 714629 Tropicos: 100352985 VASCAN: 272 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Epidendroideae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidendroideae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidendroideae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.