Galeola is a genus of orchids in the family Orchidaceae belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae.Loureiro, João de. 1790. Flora Cochinchinensis 2: 520
All species in this genus are myco-heterotrophic, i.e. they are parasitic upon fungi. The genus is spread throughout southeast Asia (from India to China to New Guinea) as well as Madagascar and Comoros.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Galeola is of biological interest because of its exclusive myco-heterotrophic nature and its seeds. The seeds are the biggest orchid seeds in the world. They are winged, which is also extraordinary for an orchid.
Species At present, there are 6 currently recognized species:
Galeola cathcarthii Hook.f. - Thailand, Myanmar, India (Assam, Sikkim) Bhutan Galeola faberi Rolfe - China, Assam, Nepal, Vietnam, Sumatra Galeola falconeri Hook.f. - India (Assam), Bhutan, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, China Galeola humblotii H.G.Reichb. - Madagascar, Comoros Galeola lindleyana (Hook.f. & J.W.Thomson) H.G.Reichb.- Bhutan, China, India (Assam), Sumatra, Vietnam, Nepal, Taiwan Galeola nudifolia Lour. (1790) - China, India (Assam), Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, New Guinea
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