Spathoglottis is a genus of roughly fifty species of terrestrial orchids in the family Orchidaceae, order Asparagales. Commonly known as purple orchids, these plants are evergreen herbs with crowded pseudobulbs nestled just below the soil surface and a few large, pleated leaves. An upright flowering stem emerges from the pseudobulb and carries medium-sized, colourful, resupinate flowers that open widely. The sepals and petals are similar in size to one another — though the petals are generally broader — and the sepals are hairy on their outer surface. Flower colour ranges from white and yellow through pink to purple. The distinctive labellum is three-lobed: the side lobes stand more or less erect while the middle lobe has a narrow claw near its base, a shape that inspired the genus name from the Greek spathe (spathe) and glotta (tongue).
The genus was first formally described in 1825 by the Dutch botanist Carl Ludwig Blume, with the type species S. plicata — one of the most widely cultivated members. Species are distributed from eastern and south-eastern Asia across to Australia and several Pacific island groups, occurring in India, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. They favour moist habitats — forest margins, grasslands, and swamps — generally in bright, open light.
Etymology
The genus name Spathoglottis is formed from the Greek spathe (spathe, a broad blade) and glotta (tongue), an allusion to the broad, tongue-shaped midlobe of the labellum. The name was coined by Carl Ludwig Blume in 1825.
Distribution
Spathoglottis orchids range across eastern and south-eastern Asia and into the Pacific, with species recorded from India, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. One species is endemic to Australia and three to China. Plants typically colonise moist forest margins, grasslands, and swamps, often in bright sunshine.
