Rhizanthella

Rhizanthella, commonly known as underground orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia. All are leafless, living underground in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi. The inflorescence is a head of flowers held at, or just above the ground but mostly covered by soil or leaf litter and little is known about the mechanism of pollination.

Underground orchids
Rhizanthella gardneri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Subtribe: Rhizanthellinae
R.S.Rogers
Genus: Rhizanthella
R.S.Rogers
Type species
Rhizanthella gardneri
R.S.Rogers (1928)
Synonyms

Cryptanthemis Rupp

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