View source for Nervilia

{{short description|Genus of orchids}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Shield orchids
| image = Nervilia aragoana 4.JPG
| image_caption = ''[[Nervilia concolor]]'' in the [[Tsukuba Botanical Garden]]
| display_parents = 3
| parent_authority = Schltr.
| taxon = Nervilia
| authority = [[Philibert Commerson|Comm.]] ex [[Gaudich.]]<ref name="powo">{{cite web |title=''Nervilia'' |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?f=accepted_names&page.size=480&q=Nervilia |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = About 65, see text
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="powosyn">{{cite web |title=''Nervilia'' |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30095-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>
| synonyms = 
*''Aplostellis'' <small>[[A.Rich.]]</small>
*''Bolborchis'' <small>[[Zoll.]] & [[Moritzi]]</small>
*''Cordyla'' <small>[[Carl Ludwig Blume|Blume]] ([[Nomen illegitimum|nom.illeg.]])</small>
*''Haplostellis'' <small>[[Endl.]]</small>
*''Rophostemon'' <small>Endl. ([[Orthographical variant|orth. var.]])</small>
*''Roptrostemon'' <small>Blume</small>
}}

'''''Nervilia''''', commonly known as '''shield orchids''', is a [[genus]] of [[orchid]]s with about 80 species widely distributed across  most of [[sub-Saharan Africa]], southern [[Asia]] ([[Saudi Arabia]], [[India]], [[China]], [[Japan]], [[Indochina]], [[Indonesia]], etc.), [[Australia]], and various islands of the [[Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean]]s.<ref name="WCSP">{{WCSP |135247 |''Nervilia'' |access-date = 15 August 2018 }}</ref><ref name="dana">[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=135247 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref> Six species occur in [[Australia]] (2 or 3 of these endemic),<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories|date=2006|publisher=New Holland|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1877069124|page =280}}</ref> with 16 in [[India]],<ref>[http://orchidkerala.googlepages.com/nervilia.htm Orchid Kerala, Nervilia]</ref> 10 in [[China]]<ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=122179 Flora of China v 25 p 197, 芋兰属 yu lan shu, ''Nervilia'' Commerson ex Gaudichaud, Voy. Uranie, Bot. 421. 1829. ]</ref> and 5 in [[South Africa]].<ref>Plants of Southern Africa: an Online Check List</ref>

==Description==
Orchids in the genus ''Nervilia'' are terrestrial, [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[sympodial]] herbs with an oval to almost spherical [[tuber]] and sometimes a few short roots. One or two flowers are borne on an erect, fleshy, leafless flowering stem. When flowering the plants lack leaves, but a single erect or ground-hugging leaf develops after the flower has fully opened. The leaves are usually wrinkled or crumpled with distinct, fan-like veins, giving rise to the genus name. The flowers are often short-lived, lasting for only a few days. The [[sepal]]s and [[petal]]s are similar, but the [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is prominent and often composed of three lobes. The genus is poorly understood, mainly because the flower and leaf are present at different times, so that [[herbarium]] specimens are often incomplete.<ref name="Jones" /><ref name="China">{{cite web |title=''Nervilia'' |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=122179 |publisher=Flora of China |access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="Pakistan">{{cite web |title=''Nervilia'' |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=122179 |publisher=Flora of Pakistan |access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and naming==
The genus ''Nervilia'' was first formally described in 1827 by [[Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré]] after an unpublished description by [[Philibert Commerson]]. The description was published in his book ''[[Louis Antoine de Bougainville#Voyage autour du monde|Voyage autour du monde]]''.<ref name="WCSP" /><ref name="Gaudichaud1">{{cite book |last1=Gaudichaud-Beaupré |first1=Charles |title=Voyage autour du monde |date=1826 |location=Paris |pages=421–422 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/98627#page/437/mode/1up |access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref> The name ''Nervilia'' is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''nervus'' meaning "nerve",<ref name="RWB">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page = 555}}</ref> referring to the veined leaves.<ref name="Quattrocchi">{{cite book |last1=Quattrocchi |first1=Umberto |title=CRC world dictionary of plant names: common names, scientific names, eponyms and etymology |url=https://archive.org/details/crcworlddictiona04quat |url-access=limited |date=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, Florida USA |isbn=0849326737 |page=[https://archive.org/details/crcworlddictiona04quat/page/n410 1814]}}</ref>

''Nervilia'' is the sole member of its subtribe, the '''Nerviliinae'''.<ref name="ChaseCameron2015"/>

===Species list===
The following is a list of species of ''Nervilia'' recognised by the ''[[Plants of the World Online]]'' as of April 2025:<ref name="powo" />
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Nervilia acuminata]]'' <small>(J.J.Sm.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia adolphi]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia affinis]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia alishanensis]]'' <small>[[T.C.Shu]], [[S.W.Chung]] & [[C.M.Kuo]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia appressifolia]]'' <small>Aver. & V.C.Nguyen</small>
*''[[Nervilia ballii]]'' <small>G.Will.</small>
*''[[Nervilia bandana]]'' <small>(Blume) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia beumeei]]'' <small>J.J.Sm.</small>
*''[[Nervilia bicarinata]]'' <small>(Blume) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia borneensis]]'' <small>(J.J.Sm.) Schltr.1</small>
*''[[Nervilia concolor]]'' <small>(Blume) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia cumberlegii]]'' <small>Seidenf. & Smitinand</small>
*''[[Nervilia dilatata]]'' <small>(Blume) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia falcata]]'' <small>(King & Pantl.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia fordii]]'' <small>(Hance) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia fuerstenbergiana]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia futago]]'' <small>S.W.Gale & [[T.Yukawa]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia gammieana]]'' <small>(Hook.f.) Pfitzer</small>
*''[[Nervilia gleadowii]]'' <small>A.N.Rao</small>
*''[[Nervilia gracilis]]'' <small>[[Aver.]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia grandiflora]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia hirsuta]]'' <small>(Blume) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia hispida]]'' <small>Blatt. & McCann</small>
*''[[Nervilia holochila]]'' <small>(F.Muell.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia hookeriana]]'' <small>(King & Pantl.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia hungii]]'' <small>Tuyama</small>
*''[[Nervilia ignobilis]]'' <small>Tuyama</small>
*''[[Nervilia infundibulifolia]]'' <small>Blatt. & McCann</small>
*''[[Nervilia jacksoniae]]'' <small>Rinehart & Fosberg</small>
*''[[Nervilia juliana]]'' <small>(Roxb.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia kasiensis]]'' <small>S.W.Gale & [[Phaways.]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia khaoyaica]]'' <small>[[Suddee]], [[Watthana (botanist)|Wattana]] & S.W.Gale</small>
*''[[Nervilia khasiana]]'' <small>(King & Pantl.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia kotschyi]]'' <small>(Rchb.f.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia lanyuensis]]'' <small>S.S.Ying</small>
*''[[Nervilia leguminosarum]]'' <small>Jum. & H.Perrier</small>
*''[[Nervilia lilacea]]'' <small>Jum. & H.Perrier</small>
*''[[Nervilia linearilabia]]'' <small>[[T.P.Lin]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia mackinnonii]]'' <small>(Duthie) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia macroglossa]]'' <small>(Hook.f.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia macrophylla]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia maculata]]'' <small>(E.C.Parish & Rchb.f.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia maliana]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia marmorata]]'' <small>S.W.Gale, Suddee & Duangjai</small>
*''[[Nervilia multinervis]]'' <small>[[Cavestro]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia muratana]]'' <small>S.W.Gale & S.K.Wu</small>
*''[[Nervilia oxyglossa]]'' <small>Fukuy.</small>
*''[[Nervilia palawensis]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia pallidiflora]]'' <small>Schltr.1</small>
*''[[Nervilia pangteyana]]'' <small>[[Jalal (botanist)|Jalal]], [[Kumar (botanist)|Kumar]] & [[G.S.Rawat]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia parishiana]]'' <small>(King & Pantl.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia pectinata]]'' <small>P.J.Cribb</small>
*''[[Nervilia peltata]]'' <small>B.Gray & D.L.Jones</small>
*''[[Nervilia petaloidea]]'' <small>Carr</small>
*''[[Nervilia petraea]]'' <small>(Afzel. ex Sw.) Summerh.</small>
*''[[Nervilia platychila]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia plicata]]'' <small>(Andrews) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia pubilabia]]'' <small>T.C.Hsu, C.W.Chen & Luu</small>
*''[[Nervilia pudica]]'' <small>([[Oakes Ames (botanist)|Ames]]) [[W.Suarez]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia punctata]]'' <small>(Blume) Makino</small>
*''[[Nervilia purpureotincta]]'' <small>T.C.Hsu</small>
*''[[Nervilia renschiana]]'' <small>(Rchb.f.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia sciaphila]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia septemtrionarius]]'' <small>T.P.Lin</small>
*''[[Nervilia seranica]]'' <small>J.J.Sm.</small>
*''[[Nervilia shirensis]]'' <small>(Rolfe) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia similis]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia simplex]]'' <small>(Thouars) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia singaporensis]]'' <small>Niissalo</small>
*''[[Nervilia stolziana]]'' <small>Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia subintegra]]'' <small>Summerh.</small>
*''[[Nervilia tahanshanensis]]'' <small>[[T.P.Lin]] & [[W.M.Lin]]</small>
*''[[Nervilia taitoensis]]'' <small>(Hayata) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia taiwaniana]]'' <small>S.S.Ying</small>
*''[[Nervilia trangensis]]'' <small>S.W.Gale, Suddee & Duangjai</small>
*''[[Nervilia trichophylla]]'' <small>Fukuy.</small>
*''[[Nervilia umenoi]]'' <small>Fukuy.</small>
*''[[Nervilia umphangensis]]'' <small>Suddee, [[Rueangr.]] & S.W.Gale</small>
*''[[Nervilia uniflora]]'' <small>(F.Muell.) Schltr.</small>
*''[[Nervilia viridis]]'' <small>S.W.Gale, Watthana & Suddee</small>
*''[[Nervilia winckelii]]'' <small>J.J.Sm.</small>
{{div col end}}

''Nervilia simplex'' var. ''himachalensis'' has been described,<ref name="Chandra" /> but is not accepted by [[Plants of the World Online]].<ref name="powo" />

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="ChaseCameron2015">{{cite journal|last1=Chase|first1=Mark W.|last2=Cameron|first2=Kenneth M.|last3=Freudenstein|first3=John V.|last4=Pridgeon|first4=Alec M.|last5=Salazar|first5=Gerardo|last6=van den Berg|first6=Cássio|last7=Schuiteman|first7=André|title=An updated classification of Orchidaceae|journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=177|issue=2|year=2015|pages=151–174|issn=0024-4074|doi=10.1111/boj.12234|doi-access=free}}</ref>
<ref name="Chandra">{{cite journal |last1=Chandra |first1=Rimjhim |last2=Gogoi |first2=Khyanjeet |title=''Nervilia simplex'' var. ''himachalensis'' (Orchidaceae): A new variety from Himalchal Pradesh, India |journal=Journal of the Orchid Society of India |date=2024 |volume=38 |pages=9–13 |url=https://orchidsocietyindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NERVILIA-SIMPLEX-VAR.-HIMACHALENSIS.pdf |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*[http://orchidkerala.googlepages.com/nervilia.htm Nervilia - Commerson ex Gaudichaud-Beaupre]
{{WestAfricanPlants|Nervilia}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q1948922|from2=Q13894126}}

[[Category:Nervilia| ]]
[[Category:Nervilieae genera]]