Ponerorchis

Ponerorchis is a small genus of Asian terrestrial tuberous orchids included in the orchid family Orchidaceae.

It has been suggested that Ponerorchis should be broadened to include Chusua, and that Hemipilia should include single `orphan' species of Ponerorchis and Habenaria

They can be found in evergreen forests and meadows in temperate, mountainous regions from the Himalayas to Siberia and Japan. They are closely related to the genus Orchis to which, in the past, they were thought to belong. The genus is distinguished from Orchis by having in the column two bursicles (pouchlike receptacles) enclosing the pollinia, instead of one. It shares with Orchis its spherical, ellipsoid or oblong tubers. The species Ponerorchis chidorii, endemic to Japan, is also known to grow epiphytically.

In horticultural trade this genus is abbreviated as Pnr. These orchids, a wide variety of mostly cultivars of Ponerorchis graminifolia, are rarely grown outside Japan..