Cirrhopetalum, abbreviated as Cirr in hortcultural trade, is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of epiphyte

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

 orchids (family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

 Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

, subfamily Epidendroideae

Epidendroideae

In plant systematics Epidendroideae is a subfamily of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Epidendroideae is larger than all the other orchid subfamilies together, comprising more than 15,000 species in 576 genera. Most Epidendroid orchids are tropical epiphytes, typically with pseudobulbs...

). This genus is very closely related to Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum is the largest genus in the orchid family Orchidaceae. With more than 2,000 species, it is also one of the largest genera of flowering plants, exceeded only by Astragalus...

and its members have been until recently considered to be in the genus Bulbophyllum. The taxon name comes from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 cirrus (fringe) and Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 petalon (petal), hence meaning fringed-petaled.

Description

Plants in this genus are usually small plants with creeping rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s. Features that distinguish this genus from Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum is the largest genus in the orchid family Orchidaceae. With more than 2,000 species, it is also one of the largest genera of flowering plants, exceeded only by Astragalus...

are:

• The dorsal sepal
  Sepal
  A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
  
   of Cirrhopetalum is much smaller than the usually inrolled lateral sepal which has adnate margins.
• There is generally an umbellate inflorescence
  Inflorescence
  An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
  
   which can be upright, pendulous or arching.
• The pseudobulb
  Pseudobulb
  The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
  
  s are conical-shaped and obscurely angled with a single spoon-like leaf atop each pseudobulb.

Species

• Cirrhopetalum abbreviatum Rchb. f. 1881.
• Cirrhopetalum africanum
• Cirrhopetalum andersonii
• Cirrhopetalum annamense Garay 1999.
• Cirrhopetalum annandalei
• Cirrhopetalum antenniferum
• Cirrhopetalum asperulatum
• Cirrhopetalum asperulum (J.J. Sm.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum auratum
• Cirrhopetalum baucoense (Ames) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum biflorum
• Cirrhopetalum boninense
• Cirrhopetalum brienianum Rolfe 1893.
• Cirrhopetalum bucklebury
• Cirrhopetalum campanulatum
• Cirrhopetalum careyanum
• Cirrhopetalum cercanthum Garay, Hamer, & Siegrist 1996.
• Cirrhopetalum concinnum
• Cirrhopetalum corolliferum
• Cirrhopetalum cumingii
• Cirrhopetalum curtisii
• Cirrhopetalum cyclosepalon
• Cirrhopetalum dentiferum (Ridl.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum elegans
  Cirrhopetalum elegans
  Cirrhopetalum elegans is an epiphyte orchid species in the genus Cirrhopetalum found in Malaya....
  
  Teijsm. & Binn. 1862.
• Cirrhopetalum eberhardii
• Cirrhopetalum fascinator
• Cirrhopetalum fenestratum (J.J. Sm.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum fimbriatum
• Cirrhopetalum flabellovernis [Koenig] Seidenfadden & Ormerad 1995.
• Cirrhopetalum frostii (Summerh.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum gamblei Hook. f. 1896.
• Cirrhopetalum gamosepalum
• Cirrhopetalum gigantea
• Cirrhopetalum gracillimum
  Cirrhopetalum gracillimum
  Cirrhopetalum gracillimum or Wispy Umbrella Orchid is a species of orchid in the genus Cirrhopetalum found in New Guinea, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia and limited regions of northern Queensland, Australia...
  
  
• Cirrhopetalum gusdorfii (J.J. Sm.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum guttatum
• Cirrhopetalum hirundinis
• Cirrhopetalum japonicum
• Cirrhopetalum lasiochilum
• Cirrhopetalum lepidum
• Cirrhopetalum lishanensis
• Cirrhopetalum loherianum Kraenzl. 1916.
• Cirrhopetalum longiflorum
• Cirrhopetalum longifolium
• Cirrhopetalum macraei
• Cirrhopetalum maculosum
• Cirrhopetalum makonarium
• Cirrhopetalum makoyanum
• Cirrhopetalum mastersianum
• Cirrhopetalum medusae
• Cirrhopetalum morotaiense (J.J. Sm.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist1994.
• Cirrhopetalum ochraceum Ridley
  Henry Nicholas Ridley
  Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG , MA , FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. was an English botanist and geologist.Born at West Harling Hall, Norfolk, England...
  
   1898.
• Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum
• Cirrhopetalum pachybulbum
• Cirrhopetalum papillosum
• Cirrhopetalum picturatum
• Cirrhopetalum pingtungense (S.S. Ying & C. Chen) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum pseudopicturatum
• Cirrhopetalum puguahaanense
• Cirrhopetalum pulchellum
• Cirrhopetalum pulchrum
• Cirrhopetalum pumilio (Par. & Rchb.f.) Hook.f. 1890.
• Cirrhopetalum punctatissimum (Ridl.) Rolfe ex Ridl. 1924.
• Cirrhopetalum purpurascens
• Cirrhopetalum putidum
• Cirrhopetalum refractum Zoll. 1847.
• Cirrhopetalum retusiusculum
• Cirrhopetalum robustum Rolfe 1893.
• Cirrhopetalum taeniophyllum
• Cirrhopetalum rothschildianum
• Cirrhopetalum roxburghii Lindl. 1830
• Cirrhopetalum scrarsii
• Cirrhopetalum sibuyanense (Ames) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum sikkimense
• Cirrhopetalum skeatianum (Ridl.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.
• Cirrhopetalum strangularium Rchb. f. 1887.
• Cirrhopetalum sumfureum
• Cirrhopetalum taeniophyllum (Parish & Rchb. f.) Hook. f. 1896.
• Cirrhopetalum tigridum (Hance) Rolfe 1903.
• Cirrhopetalum tingabarinum
• Cirrhopetalum trigonopus Rchb. f. 1881.
• Cirrhopetalum tseanum S.Y. Hu & Barretto 1976.
• Cirrhopetalum umbelatum
• Cirrhopetalum vaginatum
• Cirrhopetalum weberi
• Cirrhopetalum verstrifolia
• Cirrhopetalum wendlandianum
• Cirrhopetalum zamboangense (Ames) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994.

Hybrids

• Cirrhopetalum Elizabeth Ann 'Jean' (Cirr. longissimum x Cirr. rothschildianum)
• Cirrhopetalum Elizabeth Ann 'Buckleberry'