Gastrodia R. Br.

Description of the genus

Holomycotrophic (formerly often wrongly referred to as saprophytic) leafless terrestrial herbs with horizontal tuberous Rhizomes. Inflorescence erect, terminal with tubular or scalelike sheaths at the nodes, hairless, yellowish brown or dull brown, usually few to many flowered, rarely 1-flowered. Flowers spreading or nodding, campanulate, urceolate, or cylindric, resupinate or not, cream-brown, yellowish brown, or dull brown, occasionally greenish brown, lip often lighter brown and sometimes with orange markings; pedicel usually elongating in fruit. Sepals and petals united and forming a perianth tube, only apical portions free; perianth tube sometimes dilated and saccate at base, sometimes with a deep sinus between lateral sepals, outer surface often verrucose; petals much smaller than sepals; lip usually small and clawed at base, simple or 3-lobed. Column with a short foot at base, winged toward apex, sometimes with a pair of toothlike apical projections; pollinia 2, granular-farinaceous; stigma raised, shield-shaped. Capsule erect.

Worldwide: 61 species in Africa, Asia, Madagascar Australia and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Zimbabwe: 1 taxon.

Gastrodia ballii

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
ballii P.J.Cribb & Browning[VU]EDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Gastrodia:

Our websites:

Flora of Malawi: Gastrodia
Flora of Mozambique: Gastrodia

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Gastrodia
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Gastrodia
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Gastrodia
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Gastrodia
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Gastrodia
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Gastrodia
JSTOR Plant Science: Gastrodia
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Gastrodia
Plants of the World Online: Gastrodia
Tropicos: Gastrodia
Wikipedia: Gastrodia

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Genus page: Gastrodia.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=2483, retrieved 28 March 2024

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