Renanthera Lour.,
Fl. Cochinch. 2 (1790) 521
Monopodial epiphytes. Stem usually much elongated. Leaves many, arranged in two rows, sheathing at the base, glabrous, deciduous, duplicate, leathery. Inflorescence lateral, a many-flowered panicle. Flowers small to medium-sized, resupinate or not, bright (orange-)red or yellow with red markings. Sepals free, the lateral sepals often much longer and broader than the medium sepal. Petals free, similar to the dorsal sepal. Lip sac-shaped, not mobile, inside without callosities, much shorter than the sepals, with a small, usually recurved midlobe. Column short. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 4, about equal or slightly unequal in size, solid, caudicles absent, stipe present, viscidium present.
Distribution
Northeast India, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands. About 15 species; in New Guinea 1 species [Renanthera edelfeldtii F.Muell. & Kraenzl.].
Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland and hill forest.
Notes
The continental Asian and Philippine species of Renanthera are frequently cultivated for the not very large but brightly coloured flowers, which are either red, or yellow with red markings. The lateral sepals are usually distinctly broader than the dorsal sepal, which gives the flower a characteristic appearance. The only species occurring in New Guinea is among the least showy and not endemic.