Vrydagzynea
Introduction '''''Vrydagzynea''''', commonly called '''tonsil orchids''', is a genus of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. About forty five species of ''Vrydagzynea'' have been formally described. They are native to India, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. A single species in Australia is possibly extinct. They have thinly textured, stalked leaves and small, dull-coloured resupinate flowers with the dorsal sepal and petals overlapping to form a hood over the column.
Description Orchids in the genus ''Vrydagzynea'' are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a fleshy, creeping, above-ground rhizome anchored by wiry roots. The leaves are thinly textured and stalked, arranged in a rosette at the base of the flowering stem or scattered along it. Small, resupinate dull-coloured flowers are crowded along the short flowering stem which usually has protruding bracts. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap, forming a hood over the column. The labellum has a downward pointing spur and two stalked glands that resemble tonsils or testicles. Orchids in this genus are distinguished from those in other similar genera by the labellum glands, labellum spur and by having petals which are shorter than the sepals.
Taxonomy and naming The genus ''Vrydagzynea'' was first formally described in 1858 by Carl Ludwig Blume and the description was published in his book ''Collection des Orchidées les plus remarquables de l'archipel Indien et du Japon''. The name ''Vrydagzynea'' honours the Dutch pharmacologist Theodore Daniel Vrydag Zynen, a contemporary of Blume.===List of species===The following is a list of species of ''Vrydagzynea'' recognised by the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' as at October 2020:* ''Vrydagzynea albida'' (Blume) Blume - Bangladesh to New Guinea, Indochina, Indonesia, Philippines, Nicobar Islands* ''Vrydagzynea albostriata'' Schltr. in K.M.Schumann & C.A.G.Lauterbach - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea angustisepala'' J.J.Sm. - Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea argentistriata'' Carr - Sabah* ''Vrydagzynea argyrotaenia'' Schltr. in K.M.Schumann & C.A.G.Lauterbach - New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu* ''Vrydagzynea beccarii'' Schltr. - Sarawak* ''Vrydagzynea bicostata'' Carr - Sabah* ''Vrydagzynea bractescens'' Ridl. - Sumatra, Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea brassii'' Ormerod - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea buruensis'' J.J.Sm. - Sulawesi, Maluku* ''Vrydagzynea celebica'' Schltr. - Sulawesi* ''Vrydagzynea deliana'' J.J.Sm. - Sumatra* ''Vrydagzynea densa'' Schltr. - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea elata'' Schltr. - Sabah, Sarawak* ''Vrydagzynea elongata'' Blume - New Guinea, Maluku and Queensland* ''Vrydagzynea endertii'' J.J.Sm. - Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea formosana'' Hayata - Assam, China, Vietnam, Japan* ''Vrydagzynea gracilis'' Blume - Java, Sumatra* ''Vrydagzynea grandis'' Ames & C.Schweinf. in O.Ames - Sabah* ''Vrydagzynea guppyi'' Schltr. - Solomon Islands* ''Vrydagzynea kerintjiensis'' J.J.Sm - Sumatra* ''Vrydagzynea lancifolia'' Ridl. - Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea micronesiaca'' Schltr. - Pohnpei* ''Vrydagzynea neohibernica'' Schltr. - Bismarck Archipelago* ''Vrydagzynea novaguineensis'' J.J.Sm. - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea nuda'' Blume - Hainan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Borneo, Java* ''Vrydagzynea obliqua'' Schltr. - Sulawesi* ''Vrydagzynea paludosa'' J.J.Sm. - Queensland, New Guinea, Solomon Islands* ''Vrydagzynea pauciflora'' J.J.Sm. - Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea purpurea'' Blume - Java* ''Vrydagzynea salomonensis'' Schltr. in K.M.Schumann & C.A.G.Lauterbach - Vanuatu, Solomon Islands* ''Vrydagzynea samoana'' Schltr - Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa* ''Vrydagzynea schumanniana'' Kraenzl. in K.M.Schumann & C.A.G.Lauterbach - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea semicordata'' J.J.Sm. - Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea sessilifolia'' Ormerod - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea tilungensis'' J.J.Sm. - Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea triangularis'' Ormerod & J.J.Wood - Sabah* ''Vrydagzynea tristriata'' Ridl. - Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo* ''Vrydagzynea truncicola'' Schltr. - New Guinea* ''Vrydagzynea uncinata'' Blume - Java* ''Vrydagzynea vitiensis'' Rchb.f - Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga* ''Vrydagzynea vrydagzynoides'' (Ames) Ormerod - Leyte* ''Vrydagzynea weberi'' Ames - Philippines
See also * List of Orchidaceae genera
References