Myrmechis

Myrmechis
	Myrmechis japonica
Systematics
Order :	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family :	Orchids (orchidaceae)
Subfamily :	Orchidoideae
Tribe :	Cranichideae
Sub tribus :	Goodyerinae
Genre :	Myrmechis
Scientific name
	Myrmechis
	( Lindl. ) Flower

Myrmechis is a genus from the family of the orchid (Orchidaceae). It consists of 11 types of herbaceous plants that are native to tropical and subtropical East and Southeast Asia.

description

The species of the genus Myrmechis form a fleshy rhizome . The typical thick roots of related genera, which arise at the nodes of the rhizome, are missing. They are replaced by hair-like rhizoids that are in clusters at the internodes . The upwardly curved shoot bears a few leaves at intervals . The leaf base includes the shoot tubular, followed by a short petiole and finally the oval to almost round, slightly asymmetrical leaf blade. The texture of the leaves is a bit fleshy, they rarely measure more than two centimeters.

Myrmechis japonica flower

Leaves of Myrmechis japonica

The racemose inflorescence is terminal, it bears only one to a few flowers , it can be hairy or hairless. The peduncle carries some bracts . The bracts are about as long as ovary and pedicel together. The ovary is twisted, and it can also be hairy. The flowers are resupinated , they hardly open. The three outer bracts ( sepals ) can be fused together in their lower half. They are shaped identically to each other, the base of the sides rests against the lip . The petals are elongated to oval, they adhere to the upper petal, their tip is sometimes free. The lip is fused with the edges of the column at its base . The basal part of the lip, the hypochil, is bowl-shaped with lateral, two-part appendages on the inside. In the long middle part, the mesochil, the edges are turned up. The front part, the epichil, is bilobed, it can also be missing. The column is short, it has two elongated appendages. The oval stamen contains two oval pollinia , each of which is connected to the adhesive disc (Viscidium) by a small stalk. The scar is bilobed. The separating tissue between the stigma and the stamen (rostellum) is triangular and incised.

Occurrence

Myrmechis is distributed from southern China and southern Japan via Southeast Asia, the Philippines, to Indonesia. They grow at altitudes up to 3000 meters and occur in the humus layer of moist forests. They rarely grow epiphytically .

Illustration of Myrmechis glabra (Fig.LXXV, top left)

Illustration of Myrmechis gracilis (Fig.LXXIV, below)

Systematics and botanical history

Myrmechis is classified within the tribe Cranichideae in the subtribe Goodyerinae . According to Dressler, this can be further divided into two groups; Myrmechis is in the smaller group with two separate scar surfaces. The genus is closely related to Cheirostylis , but can be distinguished by the details of the flower.

The genus Myrmechis was established by Lindley in 1840 as a section of Anoectochilus . In 1825, Carl Ludwig Blume raised it to the rank of genre. The name comes from the Greek μύρμεξ myrmex , "ant"; the relation is unclear. The type species is Myrmechis gracilis .

There are currently 11 species of Myrmechis :

Myrmechis bakhimensis D.Maity, N.Pradhan & Maiti : It occurs in Sikkim.
Myrmechis bilobulifera (JJSm.) Schuit. : It occurs in Sulawesi.
Myrmechis chalmersii (Schltr.) Schuit. : It occurs in New Guinea.
Myrmechis chinensis Rolfe : It occurs in China.
Myrmechis drymoglossifolia Hayata : It occurs in Taiwan.
Myrmechis glabra flower : It occurs in Java.
Myrmechis gracilis (flower) flower : It occurs in Sumatra, Java and the Philippines.
Myrmechis japonica (Rchb.f.) Rolfe : It occurs in China, Tibet, Korea and from the Kuril Islands to Japan.
Myrmechis kinabaluensis Carr : It occurs in Borneo.
Myrmechis philippinensis Ames : It occurs in the Philippines.
Myrmechis pumila (Hook.f.) Tang & FTWang : It occurs from Nepal to China and Vietnam.

No longer counted in this genus:

Myrmechis aurea (JJSm.) Schuit. => Odontochilus buruensis Ormerod & Juswara
Myrmechis perpusilla Ames => Odontochilus perpusillus (Ames) T.Yukawa
Myrmechis quadrilobata (Schltr.) Schuit. => Odontochilus quadrilobatus (Schltr.) T.Yukawa
Myrmechis seranica J.J.Sm. => Odontochilus seranicus (JJSm.) T.Yukawa
Myrmechis tsukusiana Masam. => Odontochilus tsukusianus (Masam.) T.Yukawa
Myrmechis urceolata Tang & KYLang => Odontochilus urceolatus (Tang & KYLang) T.Yukawa

literature

Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip Cribb, Mark W. Chase, Finn Rasmussen (Eds.): Genera Orchidacearum. Orchidoideae (Part 2). Vanilloideae . tape 3 . Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-19-850711-9 .
Xinqi Chen, Stephan W. Gale, Phillip J. Cribb, Paul Ormerod: Myrmechis . In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven (Ed.): Flora of China . tape 25 . Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis 2009 ( eFloras.org ).
Jim B. Comber: Orchids of Java . Bentham-Moxon Trust, Kew 1990, ISBN 0-947643-21-4 , pp. 42-43 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Xinqi Chen, Stephan W. Gale, Phillip J. Cribb, Paul Ormerod: Myrmechis. In: Flora of China. Volume 25, p. 63.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Paul Ormerod, Phillip Cribb, Alec M. Pridgeon: Myrmechis. In: Genera Orchidacearum. Volume 3, pp. 124-126.
^ Robert L. Dressler: Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family . Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-45058-6 , pp. 118 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Myrmechis. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved March 28, 2020.

Web links

Commons : Myrmechis - album with pictures, videos and audio files

[FoC-1] Xinqi Chen, Stephan W. Gale, Phillip J. Cribb, Paul Ormerod: Myrmechis. In: Flora of China. Volume 25, p. 63.

[GO-2] Paul Ormerod, Phillip Cribb, Alec M. Pridgeon: Myrmechis. In: Genera Orchidacearum. Volume 3, pp. 124-126.

[Dressler-3] Robert L. Dressler: Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family . Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-45058-6 , pp. 118 .

[WCSP-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Myrmechis. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved March 28, 2020.