Name: the name formerly used was Maxillarioideae; it is now changed into
Cymbidioideae, to comply with botanical use.
Botany: stem in a single direction; cellular pollinium stalk, = stipe; superposed pollinia; incumbent anther, that bends early in development.
Cymbidieae: ± 120 genera; ± 1800 species; tropical; mostly epiphytic; sympodial growth habit and two pollinia.
Maxillarieae: ± 70 genera: ± 1000 species; tropical America; mostly epiphytes, few terrestrials or myco-heterotrophs; pseudobulbs, some have reedlike or thick underground stems; blooms have four pollinia.
TaxonomyMaxillarieae and Cymbidieae form a monophyletic clade in the
Orchidaceae. Together with Vanoideae they are also called Higher
Epidendroideae.
In the
Plant theory they are taken together as Maxillarioideae. Maxillarioideae is in
Subphase 4 of the
Orchidales. As such they are at the level of
Family and could be named Maxillariaceae.
OncideaeBotany: flowers with a typical angle of the attachment of the lip to the column, reflecting pollinator preferences; well-developed pseudobulbs; conduplicate leaves.
Maxillarieae
Region: South and Central America.
Genus: ± 75, ± 1000 species.
Botany: terrestrials or epiphytes, a few are Maxillarieae is a large and complex tribe of orchids native to South and Central America. Within the tribe there are eight subtribes one of which is that of the genus Maxillaria.
Tribe Maxillarieae contains 70 to 80 genera with about 1,000 species; most grow in tropical America as terrestrials or epiphytes, some saprophytes; pseudobulbs, but a few have reedlike stems or thick underground stems; flowers have four pollinia.