Gastrodia, commonly known as potato orchids[2] or as 天麻属 (tian ma shu),[3] is a genus of terrestrial leafless orchids in the family Orchidaceae, about ninety of which have been described. Orchids in this genus have fleshy, upright stems and small to medium-sized resupinate flowers with narrow sepals and petals. They are native to Asia (China, the Russian Far East, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent), Australia, New Zealand, central Africa, and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.[1]
Orchids in the genus Gastrodia are leafless, terrestrial, mycotrophic herbs with a fleshy, underground rhizome and an upright flowering stem with a few to many brownish, resupinate flowers. The sepals and petals are fused to form a bell-shaped or irregular tube with the tips free. The petals are usually much smaller than the sepals and the labellum has three lobes and is fully enclosed in the tube.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
The genus Gastrodia was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. The type species is Gastrodia sesamoides.[8]
The following is a list of species of Gastrodia recognised by Plants of the World Online as of September 2021:[1]