Leafless orchids
 

What are the genus, or species names if you want to, of some of the leafless orchids out there, able to be collected?

Hi Gold, you may want to try Polyrrhiza lindenii..AKA the ghost Orchid

Lecent

Calopogon (some species leafless) example:
Cpg. pulchellus

Campylocentrum (some species leafless) examples:
Cmplcn. pachyrrhizum
Cmplcn. fasciola

Chiloschista (most species leafless) examples:
Chsch. viridiflava
Chsch. sweelimii
Chsch. usneoides
Chsch. segawai

Dendrophylax (syn. Polyrrhiza, Polyradicion - all species leafless) examples:
Dlax. funalis
Dlax. lindenii

Microcoelia (all species leafless)

Mystacidium (some species leafless)

Phalaenopsis (some species always leafless, others leafless if grown under certain conditions) examples:
Phal. braceana
Phal. wilsonii

Taeniophyllum (all species leafless)

Vanilla barbellata

all of those listed above perform photosynthesis in the roots and stems, so you should be able to grow them. there are others that do not perform photosynthesis, and are nearly impossible to grow at home.

photos:
Flickr: Leafless Orchids

omg, thank you, that is very detailed, and i wil start looking at all those right now.* I was just thinking, (im putting this in a paludarium, thats a swamp theme, and i might try doing a bonsai that will be chopped, and placed in there, and the orchid will take hold on that, hopefully.* but its going to be a bald cypress.* now i can see if there would be a better fit, to do what i wanted.*

did you do it??? would love to see that sounds amazing

Most people forget that there's another group of leafless orchids: the myco-heterotrophic ones. Here is a list of orchid genera without leaves, many which are without photosynthesis:

Aphyllorchis - 15 species
Corallorhiza - 15 species
Cymbidium - 1 species
Cyrtosia - 5 species
Cystorchis - 8 species
Cephalanthera - 1 species
Didymoplexis - 10 species
Epipogium - 3 species
Eulophia - 1 species
Galeola - 10 species
Gastrodia - 35 species
Hexalectris - 7 species
Lecanorchis - 20 species
Limodorum - 1 species
Neottia - 9 species
Pterostylis - (as yet unresolved number)
Rhizanthella - 2 species
Stereosandra - 1 species
Stigmatodactylus - 4 species
Wullschlaegelia - 2 species
Yoania - 2 species

Also, all Harisella species are leafless as well.

---------- Post added at 01:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 AM ----------

Unfortunately, none of the species of leafless orchid I mentioned may be collected from the wild without special government permission based on what country you are in. In Florida you can get lucky to find Dendrophylax, and Chiloschista are common in southeast Asia, but most are grown, not collected.

I thought that with the myco-heterotrophic forms, you also have to provide the fungus that provides them with a sugar / food source? If so, where do you get the fungus?
If not, how do they get food with no chlorophyll?
Steve
P.s. - on the "Learn something new everyday" level - I did not realize there was a myco-heterotrophic cymbidium! How wild - will look that one up - !
Thnaks

Usually by taking soil samples near a plant, or by using mycorrhizal fungus boosters.

The most common method is legally just digging up the entire chunk of ground.

Adding Hexalectris and Vanilla aphyllum and Vanilla dilloniana to the list.

Very interesting topic and a couple of good lists. I can add that there is at least one other species of leafless Vanilla. It's rather special as it has the mottled appearance, both in colour and texture, of toad skin! I've had the pleasure of looking after this plant but it has yet to be possibly identified. If this rings any bells with anyone, I'd love to hear any possible leads about what this plant might be.

---------- Post added at 03:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:10 PM ----------

Chauliodon deflexicalcaratum is also leafless, photosynthesising with just its roots.