Rhynchostylis

{{Short description|Genus of orchids}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Rhynchostylis retusa (Foxtail orchid).jpg | image_caption = ''Rhynchostylis retusa'' | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Rhynchostylis | authority = Blume | type_species = ''Rhynchostylis retusa'' | type_species_authority = (Sw.) Blume. | synonyms_ref = <ref name="WCSP"/> | synonyms = ''Anota'' Schltr. }}

'''''Rhynchostylis''''' (abbreviated '''Rhy''' in the horticultural trade) is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), closely allied to the genus ''Vanda'' (from which it differs in the one-lobed lip of the flower) and comprising four currently accepted species native to the Indian subcontinent, China, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.<ref name="WCSP">[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=178377 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref><ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=128505 Flora of China v 25 p 474, 钻喙兰属 zuan hui lan shu, ''Rhynchostylis'' Blume]</ref>

==Etymology== The name consists of a compound of two Greek elements : ''rhynchos'' 'beak' and ''stylis'' 'column' – in reference to the very broad, fleshy column of the flower.{{Citation needed|reason=Greek στυλίς is a diminutive of στῦλος and not the same as στῦλος and can also have different meanings like: mast to carry a flag at the stern or cartilage which separates the nostrils.|date=June 2019}}

==Description== The flowers are borne in dense racemes and are noted for their intense, spicy fragrance. Although lacking in pseudobulbs, the plants have leathery leaves that are drought-resistant. These orchids grow naturally in warm, moist, shaded tropical areas and will thrive in cultivation if given consistent warmth, uniform moisture and bright, but indirect light. Hobbyists wanting to grow them will need a warm, humid growing environment with gentle air movement. They can be grown in pots, but are better grown in baskets, owing to the extreme fleshiness of their roots. Their unusually fragrant blooms often appear in the slightly cooler winter months.<ref>''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids'' ed. Pridgeon, Alec, pub. Lansdowne Publishing Pty Ltd. Australia 1992 and David and Charles UK 2003.{{ISBN|0 7153 1782 2}}</ref>

==Cultivation== Despite being in the ''Vanda'' tribe, they are very different from vandas. They grow more slowly, their roots are more fragile, and almost any direct sun will harm them. However, they are typically grown with no potting mix on slat baskets or mounted in the same way as vandas.<ref name="AOSRG">{{cite web|url=http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=175|title=AOS Sheet on Rhynchostylis Gigantea}}</ref> <ref name="JAYSOS">{{cite web|url=http://www.orchidspecies.com/rhynchostylis.htm|title=Jay's IOSPE on Rhynchostylis }}</ref>

==Uses== The genus possesses valuable medicinal properties meriting in-depth pharmacological investigation, including antispasmodic and antiseptic activity.<ref>Orchid Biology: Reviews and Perspectives, III ed. Arditti, Joseph, pub. Comstock Publishing Associates - a division of Cornell University Press 1984 {{ISBN|0-8014-1040-1}} (v.1) : Chapter 2 : Ethnobotany of the Orchidaceae by Lawler, Leonard J. page 101</ref> Several species have been found to contain alkaloids.<ref>''Genera Orchidacearum: Epidendroideae '' edited by Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip J. Cribb, Finn N. Rasmussen, Mark W. Chase</ref>

==Taxonomy== ===Placement in subtribe Aeridinae=== The Subtribe was changed from Sarcanthinae (Benth, 1881) to Aeridinae (Pfitzer, 1887) in 1972.<ref>Vandeae</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amjbot.org/content/93/5/770.full |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021145640/http://www.amjbot.org/content/93/5/770.full |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 21, 2015 | title=Molecular phylogenetics of Vandeae (Orchidaceae) and the evolution of leaflessness}}</ref>

===Species=== As of December 2023, four species are recognized:<ref name = "POWO">{{cite POWO |id=30532-1 |title=''Rhynchostylis'' Blume |access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref> *''Rhynchostylis gigantea'' (Lindl.) Ridl. – widespread in Hainan, Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Borneo, Philippines **''Rhynchostylis gigantea'' subsp. ''gigantea'' – all of species range except Philippines **''Rhynchostylis gigantea'' subsp. ''violacea'' (Lindl.) Christenson – Philippines *''Rhynchostylis retusa'' (L.) Blume – Yunnan, Guizhou, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Bangladesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Indochina, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Philippines *''Rhynchostylis rieferi'' (Higgins) – Philippines *''Rhynchostylis cymifera'' Yohannan, J.Mathew & Szlach.<ref>Jordan J. Biol. Sci. 11(3): 257, figs. 1-2 (2018).</ref> - South Western Ghats, India

===Formerly included=== *''Rhynchostylis coelestis'' (Rchb.f.) A.H. Kent is now a synonym of ''Vanda coelestis'' (Rchb.f.) Motes.<ref>{{cite POWO |id=77299035-1 |title=''Vanda coelestis'' (Rchb.f.) Motes |access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons-inline|Rhynchostylis|''Rhynchostylis''}} *{{Wikispecies-inline|Rhynchostylis|''Rhynchostylis''}}

Category:Rhynchostylis Category:Vandeae genera Category:Orchids of Asia