Bromheadia Lindl.,
Edwards's Bot. Reg. (1841) Misc. 89
Sympodial epiphytic or terrestrial plants with short rhizomes. Stem elongated, not branching, not fleshy, with few to several distichous leaves. Leaves sheathing at the base, glabrous, dorso-ventrally flattened or bilaterally compressed, deciduous, duplicate, leathery. Inflorescence terminal or rarely lateral, a raceme or rarely a panicle, often with swollen and laterally flattened rachis, with the flowers appearing in succession. Flowers medium-sized to rather large, ephemeral, resupinate, sepals and petals usually white or creamy yellow, sometimes reddish. Sepals free. Petals free, fairly similar to the lateral sepals but more thin-textured. Lip without spur, not mobile. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 2, solid, provided with a small pore, caudicles absent, stipe present, viscidium present (forming a single structure with the stipe).
Distribution
Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia (not in Java), the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia; about 25 species.
Distribution in the Philippines
Mindanao (Zamboanga); 2 species.
Habitat
Terrestrial in open places on poor soils, or epiphytic in lowland and montane forest.
Notes
A highly distinctive genus, rarely cultivated, in which two types of leaves occur: normal (dorso-ventrally flattened) ones, and laterally flattened ones. Only species with dorso-ventrally flattened leaves occur in the Philippines. The Cymbidium-like flowers are rather showy, but unfortunately very short-lived, lasting less than a day; they appear one-by-one from the same inflorescence over a long period. Rarely cultivated.