Sarcochilus

Sarcochilus
Illustration of Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii from Fitzgerald's Australian Orchids
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Vandeae
Subtribe: Aeridinae
Genus: Sarcochilus
R.Br.
Type species
Sarcochilus falcatus
Synonyms
  • Gunnia Lindl.
  • Monanthochilus (Schltr.) R.Rice
  • Parasarcochilus Dockrill

Sarcochilus, commonly known as butterfly orchids or fairy bells is a genus of about twenty species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are epiphytes or lithophytes and usually have short stems, leaves arranged in two rows, and flowers arranged along unbranched flowering stems. Most species are endemic to Australia but some are found in New Guinea and New Caledonia.