盂兰属 yu lan shu

Authors:Authors: Xinqi Chen, Phillip J. Cribb & Stephan W. Gale

Herbs, mycotrophic. Rhizomes creeping or ascending, cylindric, slender, slightly rigid or subfleshy, branched or simple. Stem suberect, slender, branched or simple, with sparse scalelike sheaths. Raceme terminal, usually several to 10-flowered; floral bracts small, membranous. Flowers usually resupinate, small or medium-sized, with 1 small toothed cup (calyculus) between ovary and perianth, with abscission layer above calyculus near perianth base. Sepals and petals free, similar; lip base clawed, usually by canaliculate claw connate to column foot forming a tube, rarely free, spurless, upper part 3-lobed or unlobed; disk often hairy or papillose. Column rather slender, slightly dilated toward apex, slightly clavate; anther subterminal, 2-locular; pollinia 2, granular-farinaceous, without caudicle or conspicuous viscidium; rostellum short. Fruit a cylindric capsule.

About ten species: SE Asia to the Pacific islands, north to S China and Japan; four species (one endemic) in China.