Lechanorchis is a genus of orchids (family 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,...

) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae

Vanilloideae

Vanilloideae is one of the subfamilies of orchids belonging to the large family Orchidaceae.Lindley and even Garay used to treat it as a separate family Vanillaceae. But their single, incumbent anther and poorly organised pollinia led to their recognition as at best a subgroup of monandrous...

.

The scientific name is derived from the Greek words lekane (basin) and orchis (orchid).

They occur in mountain forest of the Himalayas, tropical and subtropical Asia, New Guinea and some Pacific islands at altitudes between 300 – 1500 m

They are terrestrial, leafless myco-heterotrophs (formerly called saprophytes). They produce numerous, long, thick, horizontal roots under a short 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...

. The erect, dark, branched or unbranched stems

Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...

 are thin and brittle. They bear few to many dull brown, purple, yellow or green flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s with a somewhat brighter lip

Labellum

Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...

. The lip is about of equal length to the 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...

s and is covered with dense, yellow hair.

Characteristic for this species is:

• the presence of a calyculus, a group of cup-like small bract
  Bract
  In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
  
  s.
• the erect gynostemium (the fused stamen
  Stamen
  The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
  
   and pistil) is elongate.

Species

Lecanorchis Blume (1956).

• Lecanorchis bicarinata Schltr. (1922) (New Guinea)
• Lecanorchis brachycarpa Ohwi. (1938) (Japan to Taiwan)
• Lecanorchis ciliolata J.J.Sm. (1929) (New Guinea)
• Lecanorchis flavicans Fukuy. (1942) (Japan)(Status : threatened)
• Lecanorchis hokurikuensis Masam. f. kiiensis (Murata) Seriz. (2005) (Japan)
• Lecanorchis japonica Blume (1856) (Japan)
• Lecanorchis javanica Blume (1856) (Java, philippines, New Guinea)
• Lecanorchis kiusiana Tuyama (1955) (Korea, Japan)
• Lecanorchis malaccensis Ridl. (1893) (Thailand, Western Malesia)
• Lecanorchis multiflora J.J.Sm. (1918) (Thailand, Western Malesia)
• Lecanorchis neglecta Schltr. (1911) (New Guinea)
• Lecanorchis nigricans Honda (1931) (Japan, Taiwan, China)
• Lecanorchis seidenfadenii Szlach. & Mytnik (2000) (Malaysia)
• Lecanorchis sikkimensis N.Pearce & P.J.Cribb (1999) (Sikkim to Bhutan)
• Lecanorchis suginoana (Tuyama) Seriz. (2005)
  • Lecanorchis suginoana f. flava Seriz. (2005) (Honshū - Japan)
• Lecanorchis thalassica T.P.Lin (1987) (Taiwan)