Coilostylis Genus

Coilostylis is a small genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae, order Asparagales) first published by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1838. The name lay largely unused until 2004, when orchid taxonomists Carl Withner and Patricia Harding revived it to segregate a group of pseudobulbous species out of the much larger genus Epidendrum, which itself holds more than 1,500 species. Because taxonomic priority requires a resurrected segregate to carry the oldest available name applicable to its members, Rafinesque's epithet was pressed back into service rather than a new one being coined.

Withner and Harding characterized Coilostylis by its pseudobulbs (in contrast to the reed-like stems typical of core Epidendrum), large floral bracts, and resupinate flowers with a trilobate lip that is adnate (fused) to the column and drawn out into a long, thin midlobe. Species placed in the genus are also noted for readily producing keikis — small vegetative plantlets that sprout from the stem or inflorescence; the species Coilostylis vivipara was named for this habit.

The genus's status remains disputed among authorities. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew does not recognize Coilostylis, and as of a January 2022 review, World Flora Online still placed all of its species within Epidendrum. GBIF's Backbone Taxonomy likewise treats Coilostylis Raf. as a heterotypic synonym of Epidendrum L., and English Wikipedia carries no standalone article for the genus — the title "Coilostylis" redirects to the Epidendrum page, which describes it as "an artificial genus" that "does not stand up to molecular analysis."

The genus's type species, Coilostylis ciliaris (more widely known under its accepted name Epidendrum ciliare, the "fringed star orchid"), was originally described by Linnaeus in 1759 — more than a century before Rafinesque proposed the genus name later revived to house it. It ranges from Mexico through Central America and the Caribbean to northern and western South America.