Gastrodia R. Br.
赤箭屬(天麻屬)
LEOU, Chong-Sheng
Terrestrial saprophytic herbs without chlorophylls. Rhizomes horizontal, tuberous, densely noded, often pubescent, with scales on node, rarely with coral-like roots. Stem erect, scaly on nodes. Leaves absent. Inflorescence terminal, racemose, bearing few to many bracteate flowers. Flowers resupinate, fleshy; ovary pedicellate, pedicels elongated in fruit or not; sepals and petals united, forming a 5-lobed perianth tube, or forming a urceolate structure being split between lateral sepals, petal lobes located near sinus of sepal lobes, smaller than sepal lobes; lip adnate to apex of column-foot, embraced by perianth tube, or rarely adnate to perianth tube, not lobed or rarely 3-lobed, clawed at base, blade often mobile, disc with or without lamellae or calli; column fairly long, erect on top of ovary, more or less semicylindrical, straight, narrowly 2-winged near apex, often with foot at base, rarely with ventral appendage; anther terminal on column, incumbent, pollinia 2, soft, granular, without viscidium; stigma single, near base or rarely near top on ventral side of column; rostellum small or rarely absent. Capsules cylindrical or ellipsoid.
Ca. 25 species, from the Himalaya eastward to Japan, and southward through Malaysia to Australia and New Zealand. Nine species found in Taiwan.
