Herbs, epiphytic. Rhizome creeping or ± pendulous, usually with rather dense nodes. Pseudobulbs distant or close, ovoid to cylindric, usually covered with leathery sheaths, usually with 2 leaves at apex but sometimes with only 1 leaf. Leaf blade often oblong to elliptic, usually thickly textured, usually petiolate at base. Inflorescence either terminal or lateral to mature pseudobulbs and either heteranthous, proteranthous, or synanthous with partially to entirely developed leaves, or hysteranthous with fully developed pseudobulb and leaves, inflorescence erect or pendulous, with or without distichous-equitant, persistent sheaths at base or imbricate, sterile, convolute sheathing bracts at interface between peduncle and rachis, sometimes its apex enclosed in a large bract or several bracts, usually several flowered, rarely more than 20-flowered or reduced to a solitary flower; floral bracts caducous, often large. Flowers opening successively or simultaneously, large or medium-sized, sometimes heteranthous. Sepals similar, often concave. Petals often linear, much narrower than sepals; lip often concave at base, 3-lobed or rarely unlobed; lateral lobes ± erect and embracing column; callus with longitudinal lamellae. Column rather long, winged on both sides and around top, without column foot; anther terminal, incumbent; pollinia 4, in 2 pairs, waxy, attached to 1 sticky substance; stigma concave; rostellum rather large. Capsule medium-sized, often ribbed or narrowly winged.

Coelogyne venusta Rolfe (Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 35: 259. 1904) was described based on cultivated material. It is excluded from the present treatment because the cited locality "Yunnan" is incorrect and most probably resulted from the habit of early collectors to record false information; the species is only known from Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, and Sabah).

About 200 species: tropical and subtropical Asia to Oceania; 31 species (six endemic) in China.

(Authors: Chen Xinqi (陈心启 Chen Sing-chi); Dudley Clayton)