Polystachya foliosa(Hook.) Rchb.f.

lesser yellowspike orchid

WFO wfo-0000280378 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Círculo de Investigación en Taxonomía, Florística y Ecología Vegetal
fig. a Círculo de Investigación en Taxonomía, Florística y Ecología Vegetal, CC0 1.0 / 2022-03-11 / obs. 182492802
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Arthur de Jesús Chavarría Pérez
fig. b Arthur de Jesús Chavarría Pérez, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 98773005
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Arthur de Jesús Chavarría Pérez
fig. c Arthur de Jesús Chavarría Pérez, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 98423250
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Letizia Weichgrebe
fig. d Letizia Weichgrebe, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 52795757
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Letizia Weichgrebe
fig. e Letizia Weichgrebe, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50517392
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. f Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 63900362
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
fig. g Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 38728015
Polystachya foliosa, photographed by Kai Squires
fig. h Kai Squires, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 171497816

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 36 botanical countries

Regions where Polystachya foliosa is native: Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Windward Is. Mexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela BahamasLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Polystachya foliosa, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bahamas BAH
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Windward Is. WIN
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 32 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Dendrorchis caracasana (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorchis carea (Brongn.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorchis clavata (Lindl.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorchis foliosa (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorchis paulensis (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorkis caracasana (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorkis estrellensis (Rchb.f.) Kuntze
  • Dendrorkis foliosa (Hook.) Kuntze
  • Encyclia polystachya Poepp. & Endl.
  • Epidendrum minimum Aubl.
  • Polystachya abbreviata Rchb.f.
  • Polystachya altilamellata Schltr.
  • Polystachya amazonica Schltr.
  • Polystachya bradei Schltr. ex Mansf.
  • Polystachya caracasana Rchb.f.
  • Polystachya costaricensis Schltr.
  • Polystachya ecuadorensis Schltr.
  • Polystachya edwallii Hoehne & Schltr.
  • Polystachya estrellensis Rchb.f.
  • Polystachya fariae Campacci
  • Polystachya foliosa var. triandra Sauleda & R.M.Adams
  • Polystachya guatemalensis Schltr.
  • Polystachya huebneri Schltr.
  • Polystachya micrantha Schltr.

and 8 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.