Neottia


Neottia is a genus of orchids. The genus now includes the former genus Listera, commonly known as twayblades referring to the single pair of opposite leaves at the base of the flowering stem. The genus is native to temperate, subarctic and arctic regions across most of Europe, northern Asia, and North America, with a few species extending into subtropical regions in the Mediterranean, Indochina, the southeastern United States, etc.
Neottia produces a racemose inflorescences with flowers in shades of green or dull pink through to maroon and purple. The lip of each flower is prominently forked or two-lobed. Some species are completely without chlorophyll and have leaves which are reduced to scales.

Description

Neottia is a genus of relatively small terrestrial orchids. Some have chlorophyll and are hence gaining their energy from photosynthesis. Others lack chlorophyll and are dependent on fungi for their nutrition. The flowering stem has a number of greenish or brownish bracts at the base. In the photosynthetic members of the genus there are also two more-or-less opposite green leaves. The flowers are individually small, in shades of green, yellow, brown or red to purple. The lip is usually much larger than the other five tepals, and is almost always deeply divided into two lobes at the end. The other five tepals may form a loose hood. The pollinia are not stalked.

Taxonomy

At one time the genus was divided between Neottia and Listera. Molecular phylogenetic studies in this century have shown that species lacking chlorophyll, such as Neottia nidus-avis, evolved within a larger clade of photosynthetic plants containing Neottia and Listera, so that the two genera should be combined. As Neottia is the older name, sources such as the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families and the Flora of China now use Neottia for all species formerly in Listera. Other sources continue to divide the genus into two.

Species

Species accepted as of June 2014:
  1. Neottia acuminata Schltr. - China, Japan, Korea, Russian Far East, Himalayas
  2. Neottia alternifolia Szlach. - Sikkim, Yunnan
  3. Neottia auriculata Szlach. – auricled twayblade - eastern Canada, northeastern USA
  4. Neottia bambusetorum Szlach. - Yunnan
  5. Neottia banksiana Rchb.f. in W.G.Walpers - northwestern twayblade – from Alaska to California
  6. Neottia biflora Szlach. - Sichuan
  7. Neottia bifolia Baumbach – southern twayblade - eastern Canada, eastern USA
  8. Neottia borealis Szlach. – northern twayblade - most of Canada including Arctic regions, plus mountains of western US
  9. Neottia brevicaulis Szlach. - eastern Himalayas and Yunnan
  10. Neottia brevilabris Tang & F.T.Wang - Chongqing
  11. Neottia camtschatea Rchb.f. in H.G.L.Reichenbach - Siberia, Russian Far East, Mongolia, northwestern China, Central Asia
  12. Neottia chandrae Raskoti, J.J.Wood & Ale - Nepal
  13. Neottia chenii S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Sichuan, Gansu
  14. Neottia confusa Bhaumik - Arunachal Pradesh
  15. Neottia convallarioides Rich. – much of Canada, western and northern US, Komandor Islands of Russia - broad-lipped twayblade
  16. Neottia cordata Rich. – widespread across Europe, northern Asia, Canada, US - lesser twayblade, heartleaf twayblade
  17. Neottia dentata Szlach. - Himalayas, Myanmar
  18. Neottia dihangensis Bhaumik - Arunachal Pradesh
  19. Neottia divaricata Szlach. - Arunachal Pradesh, Tibet
  20. Neottia fangii S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Sichuan
  21. Neottia flabellata Szlach. - mountains of northern Myanmar
  22. Neottia formosana S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Taiwan
  23. Neottia furusei T.Yukawa & Yagame - Japan
  24. Neottia gaudissartii Hand.-Mazz. - Shanxi, Henan, Liaoning
  25. Neottia inagakii Yagame, Katsuy. & T.Yukawa - Honshu
  26. Neottia japonica Szlach. - Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Jeju-do Island of Korea
  27. Neottia karoana Szlach. - eastern Himalayas, Yunnan
  28. Neottia kiusiana T.Hashim. & S.Hatus. - Korea, Japan
  29. Neottia kuanshanensis H.J.Su - Taiwan
  30. Neottia latilabra ined.. - Vietnam
  31. Neottia listeroides Lindl. in J.F.Royle - mountains from Pakistan to Tibet and Assam
  32. Neottia longicaulis Szlach. - eastern Himalayas, Tibet
  33. Neottia mackinnonii Deva & H.B.Naithani - western Himalayas
  34. Neottia makinoana Szlach. - Japan
  35. Neottia megalochila S.C.Chen - Sichuan, Yunnan
  36. Neottia meifongensis T.C.Hsu & S.W.Chung - Taiwan
  37. Neottia microglottis Schltr. - western Himalayas
  38. Neottia microphylla S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Yunnan
  39. Neottia morrisonicola Szlach. - Taiwan
  40. Neottia mucronata Szlach. - China, Japan, Korea, eastern Himalayas
  41. Neottia nanchuanica Szlach. - Chongqing
  42. Neottia nandadeviensis Szlach. - Uttarakhand
  43. Neottia nankomontana Szlach. - Taiwan
  44. Neottia nepalensis Szlach - Nepal
  45. Neottia nidus-avis Rich. – widespread across most of Europe; also Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus, western Siberia - bird's-nest orchid
  46. Neottia nipponica Szlach. - Russian Far East, Korea, Japan
  47. Neottia oblata Szlach. - Chongqing
  48. Neottia ovata Bluff & Fingerh. - Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, Southwestern Asia – common twayblade, eggleaf twayblade
  49. Neottia pantlingii Tang & F.T.Wang - eastern Himalayas
  50. Neottia papilligera Schltr. - Japan, Korea, Russian Far East, northeastern China
  51. Neottia pinetorum Szlach. - Himalayas of India, Nepal, China, etc.
  52. Neottia pseudonipponica Szlach. - Taiwan
  53. Neottia puberula Szlach. - China, Japan, Korea, Siberia, Russian Far East
  54. Neottia smallii Szlach. – Appalachian Mountains of eastern US - kidneyleaf twayblade
  55. Neottia smithiana Schltr. - Sichuan, Shaanxi
  56. Neottia smithii Szlach. - Sichuan
  57. Neottia suzukii Szlach. - Taiwan
  58. Neottia taibaishanensis P.H.Yang & K.Y.Lang - Shaanxi
  59. Neottia taizanensis Szlach. - Taiwan
  60. Neottia tenii Schltr. - Yunnan
  61. Neottia tenuis Szlach. - Tibet, Nepal, eastern Himalayas
  62. Neottia tianschanica Szlach. - Xinjiang
  63. Neottia unguiculata Szlach. - Myanmar
  64. Neottia ussuriensis Soó - Primorye region of Russia
  65. Neottia × veltmanii Baumbach - Michigan
  66. Neottia wardii Szlach. - China, Tibet
  67. Neottia yunnanensis Szlach. - Yunnan