Cytheris Lindley.

Herbs, terrestrial (rarely epiphytic). Rhizome creeping; roots sometimes villous, with root hairs. Pseudobulbs ascending, articulate at junction with petiole and peduncle, scales tubular, membranous, often soon caducous. Leaf 1 per pseudobulb, convolute, petiolate; petiole suborbicular, channeled, not sheathing; blade ovate to cordate, main veins prominent, often mottled. Inflorescence an erect raceme, unbranched, 2-16-flowered; peduncle and rachis usually elongating after anthesis, peduncle with few internodes, scales persistent, tubular; rachis erect, unbranched; floral bracts sessile, not tubular. Flowers not resupinate, turned to all sides, most open simultaneously. Sepals reflexed or not, lanceolate to linear. Petals reflexed or not, lanceolate to linear, falcate or not; lip immobile, broadly attached to column foot, parallel to column, blade flat or shallowly concave, or basal half tubular and open at upper side and front part recurved, entire or 3-lobed; disk with central 3 veins either keeled or with a platelike appendage or 1 or more rows of fleshy papillae or laciniae, adaxially glabrous, velvety hairy or with patches of hairs or both; spur clavate, cylindric, or saccate. Column with a flat foot, without a spur; anther cap imperfectly 4-locular, with 2 horns; pollinia 8 in 2 groups of 4, solid, with caudicles, stipe and viscidium absent. Capsule with persistent perianth.

Nephelaphyllum pulchrum Blume (Bijdr. 373. 1825) was recorded from Hainan (Baisha and Changjiang) by X. Q. Song, Q. W. Meng and Y. B. Luo (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 45: 325-326. 2007). This is a widespread species distributed from India and Bhutan, through Malaysia and Indonesia to Palawan in the Philippines. Although the occurrence in Hainan is not unlikely, the present authors could not confirm it because they have not seen the specimens (X. Q. Song 121 and X. Q. Song 134, both at PE).

About 15 species: from India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indochina north to China and Japan, eastward through Malaysia and Indonesia to the Philippines; one species in China.

(Authors: Chen Xinqi (陈心启 Chen Sing-chi); Jeffrey J. Wood)