Hetaeria, commonly known as hairy jewel orchids,[2] is a genus of about thirty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are terrestrial herbs with a succulent rhizome and a loose rosette of leaves. Small, pale, hairy non-resupinate flowers are borne on a thin, hairy flowering stem. They are found in tropical Africa and Asia to New Guinea, Australia and some Pacific Islands.

Hairy jewel orchids
Drawing of Hetaeria affinis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Subtribe: Goodyerinae
Genus: Hetaeria
Blume[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Etaeria Blume
  • Aetheria Endl.
  • Cerochilus Lindl.
  • Rhamphidia (Lindl.) Lindl.

Description

edit

Orchids in the genus Hetaeria are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a creeping, succulent, above-ground rhizome anchored to the ground by wiry roots. The leaves are dark green, usually narrow, thin-textured and arranged in a loose rosette with a short petiole-like base, the lower leaves usually withered by flowering time. The flowers are non-resupinate and usually small, dull-coloured and hairy with the dorsal sepal and petals joined to form a hood over the column. The labellum is glabrous and has a deep pouch near its base.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

edit

The genus Hetaeria was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume and the description was published in Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië.[1][5] (Blume gave the name Etaeria, but Hetaeria is a conserved name.) The name Hetaeria is an Ancient Greek word meaning "comrade" or "companion".[6]

Species list

edit

Species recognized as of August 2018:[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Hetaeria". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. ^ a b Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 348. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. ^ "Hetaeria". Flora of China. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  4. ^ D.L.Jones; T.Hopley; S.M.Duffy (2010). "Hetaeria". Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids. Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  5. ^ Blume, Carl Ludwig (1825). Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië (Part 8). Batavia. p. 409. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 223.
edit