Greek dorys – spear; an allusion to the spear-shaped labellum; or from Doritis, one of the names of the goddess Aphrodite.
Epiphytic or epilithic herbs, monopodial. Stems short, leafy, simple, lacking pseudobulbs, roots thick and flattened. Leaves in 2 ranks, elliptic to lanceolate, fairly rigid, sheathing at base, light green above, dark green to purplish below. Inflorescences axillary racemes, simple or branched, erect. Flowers resupinate, many, medium sized. Sepals similar, spreading, dorsal free, laterals joined to column foot producing a conical spur. Petals similar to sepals, spreading, free. Labellum 3-lobed, base joined to column foot and with 2 linear appendages, side lobes erect, midlobe with a fleshy ridge. Column erect, with a long foot. Pollinia 2, each deeply cleft.
Doritis is closely related to, and often included in, Phalaenopsis Blume, but can be distinguished by the conical spur at the base of the lateral sepals and the 2 linear appendages at the base of the labellum.
India to Indonesia.
Inflorescences erect; base of lateral sepals with a conical spur.
Source: (2005). Orchidaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
