Taeniophyllum Blume,
Bijdr. (1825) 355
Leafless monopodial epiphytes. Stem very short. Inflorescence lateral from the stem, a few- to many-flowered raceme, with the flowers opening in succession. Flowers minute to medium-sized, sometimes ephemeral, resupinate or not. Sepals all three connate or free. Petals connate to the sepals or free, usually similar to the dorsal sepal, but often somewhat narrower. Lip spurred, not mobile. Column-foot absent. Rostellum very short to long and beak-like. Pollinia 4, solid, caudicles absent, stipe present, viscidium present.
Distribution
Tropical Africa (1 species), Sri Lanka, tropical continental Asia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, east to Tahiti; about 170 species.
Distribution in the Philippines
Luzon (Kalinga-Apayao, Mt. Province, Benguet, Cagayan, Bataan, Laguna, Sorsogon), Mindoro, Palawan, Negros, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, Mindanao (Zamboanga, Agusan, Davao, Cotabato). 6 species.
Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland and montane forest, often in the canopy on thin twigs; also on solitary trees, fruit-trees, large shrubs, etc.
Notes
Among the leafless epiphytic orchids in Southeast Asia, Taeniophyllum is easily recognised by the spurred lip and radiating cluster of roots. Most of the species are very poorly known and rarely found in cultivation.