Acriopsis
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of orchids and the sole member of its subtribe, the Acriopsidinae.
The genus consists of about 12 species, and was described by Carl Ludwig Blume
Carl Ludwig Blume
Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume was a German-Dutch botanist.He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life working in the Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands, where he was Director of the Rijksherbarium at Leiden...
(1789–1862) in 1825. The name 'Acriopsis' is derived from the Greek akris, locust and -opsis, resemblance, "refers to the unusual column that resembles the shape of a locust."
This genus (sometimes referred to as the Chandelier Orchids) is found in India, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea, with only one species in Australia which lives between the Daintree River
Daintree River
The Daintree River runs through the Daintree Rainforest in the Cape Tribulation region of Queensland in northern Australia. It is located about 100 kilometres northwest of Cairns in far north tropical Queensland and drains an area of 2,125 square kilometres. The river, along with the Daintree...
and the tip of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
in northern Queensland.
They grow mainly in low, humid rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s, sometimes ascending to medium altitudes. Their roots have specialised roots which grow from them up through the air and make branches which feed on litter and other debris.