微球组 wei qiu zu

Rhizome creeping or straggling; roots sprouting mainly below pseudobulbs, spreading; new shoots arising from basal node of pseudobulb. Pseudobulbs inconspicuous compared to size of plant, apex with 1 leaf. Leaves persistent, thick. Inflorescence solitary, mostly arising near pseudobulbs, an elongate or contracted raceme. Pedicel with basal node ± coinciding with attachment of subtending bract. Sepals: margins glabrous, 3-veined; lateral sepals ca. as long as dorsal sepal or somewhat longer, approaching or partly fused along their lower margins. Petals: margins glabrous to erose or denticulate, 1-veined; lip: margins without auricles or lateral lobes, margins ± glabrous to papillose, adaxially glabrous to papillose. Column: stigma not or only slightly protruding at its base, foot very short, often inconspicuous; anther: front margin not or slightly projecting, abaxially with or without a low, rounded crest; pollinia 4, inner slightly less than 1/2 as long as outer or longer, all without appendages.

Sixty-five provisionally accepted species: India to W Pacific; three species in China.