Tainia Blume
in Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie (1825); p. 354

INTRODUCTION: The genus contains about twenty five species distributed from India, China, South-east Asia to New Guinea, the Solomon islands and Australia.

DERIVATION OF GENUS NAME: The name is derived from the Greek tainia (band, strap, ribbon), possibly referring to the long narrow leaves.

TYPE SPECIES: Tainia speciosa Blume

CHARACTERISTICS OF GENUS: Evergreen terrestrial herbs with slender, fleshy pseudobulbs each with a single, broad, smooth or pleated leaf. The inflorescence arises from the base of the pseudobulb and carries several relatively large flowers. The flowers are long-lasting and are coloured green to yellow with purple markings and stripes. The species prefer shady forests in high rainfall areas from 250 - 1000 m.

SPECIES SHOWN HERE: Tainia sp.drawn by Neville H. Howcroft

HABITAT: Lower montane moss forests above 1,200 m.