Rhomboda

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Rhomboda
Rhomboda moulmeinensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Subtribe: Goodyerinae
Genus: Rhomboda
Lindl.[1]
Type species
Rhomboda longifolia

Rhomboda, commonly known as velvet jewel orchids,[3] is a genus of about twenty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are mostly terrestrial herbs with a fleshy, creeping rhizome and a loose rosette of green to maroon coloured leaves. Small resupinate or partly resupinate, dull coloured flowers are borne on a hairy flowering stem. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap and form a hood over the column and there is a deep pouch at the base of the labellum. They are found in tropical regions from northern India through Southeast Asia, China, Japan to Australia and some Pacific Islands.

Description

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Orchids in the genus Rhomboda are usually terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a creeping, fleshy, above-ground rhizome anchored to the ground by wiry roots. A few species are epiphytic. The leaves are spirally arranged around the stem with the upper leaves forming a loose rosette. They are dark green to maroon or brownish with a central white or red line. The flowers are resupinate or partly resupinate with the dorsal sepal and petals fused to form a hood over the column. The lateral sepals are similar to the dorsal sepal, free and often spreading. The labellum has a deep pouch near its base, a narrow middle section and often has a hooked tip.[3][4][2][5][6]

Taxonomy and naming

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The genus Rhomboda was first formally described in 1857 by John Lindley and the description was published in Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany.[1][7] The name Rhomboda is derived from the Ancient Greek word rhombos meaning "a top",[8] referring to the shape of the calli on the labellum of the type specimen.[4]

Distribution

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Orchids in the genus Rhomboda are native to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Queensland between the Daintree and Paluma.

Species list

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The following is a list of species accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as at August 2018:[1]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhomboda.
Wikispecies has information related to Rhomboda.
  1. ^ a b c "Rhomboda". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. ^ a b D.L.Jones; T.Hopley; S.M.Duffy (2010). "Rhomboda". Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids. Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  3. ^ 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. 349. ISBN 1877069124.
  4. ^ a b Alec M. Pridgeon; Phillip J. Cribb; Mark W. Chase; Finn N. Rasmussen, eds. (2003). Genera orchidacearum (Volume 3). Oxford University Press. pp. 142–145. ISBN 0198507119.
  5. ^ "Rhomboda". Flora of China. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Genus Rhomboda". Orchids of New Guinea. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  7. ^ Lindley, John (1825). "The Orchidology of India". Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany. 1: 181. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  8. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 227.
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