In botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

, Satyrium is an orchid 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...

. The 91 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 (as of 2008) occur mainly in sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...

 and Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. The range of 4 species extends to Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, namely India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. Hybridization is known to occur between several of its members. This complicates molecular phylogenetic studies, especially those relying on mitochondrial

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...

 and chloroplast

Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...

 DNA sequence

DNA sequence

The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...

s.

The closest living relative is presumably Pachites

Pachites

Pachites is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.- References :*Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.A. & Rasmussen, F. eds. . Genera Orchidacearum 1. Oxford Univ. Press....

, which together with Satyrium makes up the subtribe Satyriinae of the Diseae. Other species with helmet-shaped flowers like those of Satyrium, e.g. of Aceras, Chamorchis

Chamorchis

Chamorchis is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.- References :*Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.A. & Rasmussen, F. eds. . Genera Orchidacearum 1. Oxford Univ. Press....

and Platanthera

Platanthera

The genus Platanthera belongs to the subfamily Orchidoideae of the family Orchidaceae, and comprises about 100 species of orchids. The members of this genus were previously included in the genus Orchis, which is a close relative . They are distributed throughout the temperate regions of the...

, were historically often placed in the present genus. But they are not that closely related to Satyriinae, belonging in tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Orchideae today.

Selected species

• Satyrium bicorne
  Satyrium bicorne
  Satyrium bicorne is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern Cape Province. It is the type species of the genus Satyrium....
  
  
• Satyrium carneum
  Satyrium carneum
  Satyrium carneum is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern Cape Province....
  
  
• Satyrium coriifolium
  Satyrium coriifolium
  Satyrium coriifolium is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern and southern Cape Province....
  
  
• Satyrium erectum
  Satyrium erectum
  Satyrium erectum is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern and western Cape Province....
  
  
• Satyrium macrophyllum
  Satyrium macrophyllum
  Satyrium macrophyllum is a species of orchid occurring from Kenya to South Africa....
  
  
• Satyrium nepalense
  Satyrium nepalense
  Satyrium nepalense is a species of orchid occurring from the Indian subcontinent to south-central China....
  
  
• Satyrium odorum
  Satyrium odorum
  Satyrium odorum is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern Cape Province....
  
  
• Satyrium pumilum
  Satyrium pumilum
  Satyrium pumilum is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern Cape Province....