Zeuxine, commonly known as verdant jewel orchids, is a genus of about eighty species of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. They are native to parts of tropical Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia and some Pacific Islands. They have relatively narrow, dark green leaves and small, dull-coloured resupinate flowers with the dorsal sepal and petals overlapping to form a hood over the column. The labellum has a pouched base and its tip has two lobes.
Description Orchids in the genus Zeuxine are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a fleshy, creeping, above-ground rhizome anchored by wiry roots. The leaves are thinly textured and stalked, arranged in a rosette at the base of the flowering stem or scattered along it. Small, resupinate dull-coloured flowers are often crowded along the short flowering stem which usually has protruding bracts. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap, forming a hood over the column. The lateral sepals overlap the base of the labellum which is usually white, has a pouched base and a number of stalkless glands. The column is short with two stigmas.
Taxonomy and naming The genus Zeuxine was first formally described in 1826 by John Lindley who gave it the name Zeuxina but Zeuxine is the nom. cons. The description was published in the appendix of Collectanea Botanica. The name Zeuxine is derived from the Latin word zeuxis meaning "joining" or "yoking" in apparent reference to either the partly fused column or to the pollinia.
Distribution and habitat Plants in the genus Zeuxine usually grow in dark, moist forests where the humidity is always high or near swamps and seepage areas. They occur in tropical regions between Africa and Asia, in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia and some Pacific Islands. Fourteen species are endemic to China and ten in Taiwan. Zeuxine strateumatica is naturalised on the Hawaiian Islands and in the south-eastern United States.
List of species The following is a list of species of Zeuxine recognised by the Plants of the World Online as at October 2025:
Zeuxine affinis (Lindl.) Benth. ex Hook.f. Zeuxine africana Rchb.f. Zeuxine agyokuana Fukuy. Zeuxine amboinensis (J.J.Sm.) J.J.Sm. Zeuxine andamanica King & Pantl. Zeuxine arisanensis Hayata Zeuxine baliensis J.J.Sm. Zeuxine ballii P.J.Cribb Zeuxine bifalcifera J.J.Sm. Zeuxine blatteri C.E.C.Fisch. Zeuxine boninensis Tuyama Zeuxine bougainvilleana Ormerod Zeuxine cambodiana (Gagnep.) Ormerod Zeuxine chowdheryi Av.Bhattacharjee & Sabap. Zeuxine clandestina Blume Zeuxine cordata (Lindl.) Ormerod Zeuxine diversifolia Ormerod Zeuxine elatior Schltr. Zeuxine elmeri (Ames) Ames Zeuxine elongata Rolfe Zeuxine erimae Schltr. in K.M.Schumann & C.A.G.Lauterbach Zeuxine eryliae Ormerod Zeuxine exilis Ridl. Zeuxine flava (Wall. ex Lindl.) Trimen Zeuxine fritzii Schltr. Zeuxine gengmanensis (K.Y.Lang) Ormerod Zeuxine gilgiana Kraenzl. & Schltr. Zeuxine glandulosa King & Pantl. Zeuxine goodyeroides Lindl. Zeuxine gracilis (Breda) Blume Zeuxine integrilabella C.S.Leou Zeuxine kantokeiensis Tatew. & Masam. Zeuxine kutaiensis J.J.Sm. Zeuxine lalashanensis S.S.Ying Zeuxine lancifolia (Ames) Ormerod Zeuxine leucoptera Schltr. Zeuxine leytensis (Ames) Ames Zeuxine lindleyana T.Cooke Zeuxine longilabris (Lindl.) Trimen Zeuxine lunulata P.J.Cribb & J.Bowden Zeuxine macrorhyncha Schltr. Zeuxine madagascariensis Schltr. Zeuxine mamiefoglianiae M.Pignal Zeuxine marivelensis (Ames) Ames Zeuxine membranacea Lindl. Zeuxine mindanaensis (Ames) Ormerod Zeuxine montana Schltr. in K.M.Schumann & C.A.G.Lauterbach Zeuxine mooneyi S.Misra Zeuxine nervosa (Wall. ex Lindl.) Benth. ex Trimen Zeuxine niijimai Tatew. & Masam. Zeuxine oblonga R.S.Rogers & C.T.White Zeuxine odorata Fukuy. Zeuxine ovalifolia L.Li & S.J.Li Zeuxine ovata (Gaudich.) Garay & W.Kittr. Zeuxine palawensis Tuyama Zeuxine palustris Ridl. Zeuxine papillosa Carr Zeuxine parvifolia (Ridl.) Seidenf. Zeuxine petakensis J.J.Sm. Zeuxine philippinensis (Ames) Ames Zeuxine plantaginea (Rchb.f.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Drake Zeuxine pseudogracilis Ormerod Zeuxine purpurascens Blume Zeuxine reflexa King & Pantl. Zeuxine regia (Lindl.) Trimen Zeuxine reginasilvae Ormerod Zeuxine rolfeana King & Pantl. Zeuxine rupestris Ridl. Zeuxine samoensis Schltr. Zeuxine stammleri Schltr. Zeuxine stenophylla (Rchb.f.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Drake Zeuxine strateumatica (L.) Schltr. Zeuxine subquadrata Ormerod Zeuxine tenuifolia Tuyama Zeuxine tjiampeana J.J.Sm. Zeuxine tonkinensis Gagnep. Zeuxine triangula J.J.Sm. Zeuxine vietnamica Aver. Zeuxine violascens Ridl. Zeuxine viridiflora (J.J.Sm.) Schltr. Zeuxine viridiflora var. latifolia J.J.Sm. Zeuxine viridiflora var. viridiflora. Zeuxine weberi (Ames) Ames Zeuxine wenzelii (Ames) Ormerod Zeuxine yehii T.C.Hsu Zeuxine zollingeri (Rchb.f.) Ormerod & Juswara
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