noun
enormous cosmopolitan family of perennial terrestrial or epiphytic plants with fleshy tubers or rootstocks and unusual flowers
• Syn: ↑family Orchidaceae, ↑orchid family
• Hypernyms: ↑monocot family, ↑liliopsid family
• Member Holonyms: ↑Orchidales, ↑order Orchidales
• Member Meronyms:
↑orchid, ↑orchidaceous plant, ↑genus Orchis, ↑genus Aerides, ↑genus Angrecum, ↑Angraecum, ↑genus Angraecum, ↑Anoectochilus, ↑genus Anoectochilus, ↑Aplectrum, ↑genus Aplectrum, ↑genus Arethusa, ↑genus Bletia, ↑Bletilla, ↑genus Bletilla, ↑genus Brassavola, ↑Brassia, ↑genus Brassia, ↑genus Caladenia, ↑genus Calanthe, ↑Calopogon, ↑genus Calopogon, ↑genus Calypso, ↑Catasetum, ↑genus Catasetum, ↑genus Cattleya, ↑Cephalanthera, ↑genus Cephalanthera, ↑Cleistes, ↑genus Cleistes, ↑Coeloglossum, ↑genus Coeloglossum, ↑genus Coelogyne, ↑Corallorhiza, ↑genus Corallorhiza, ↑Coryanthes, ↑genus Coryanthes, ↑Cycnoches, ↑genus Cycnoches, ↑genus Cymbidium, ↑Cypripedium, ↑genus Cypripedium, ↑Dactylorhiza, ↑genus Dactylorhiza, ↑genus Dendrobium, ↑genus Disa, ↑Dracula, ↑genus Dracula, ↑Dryadella, ↑genus Dryadella, ↑Eburophyton, ↑genus Eburophyton, ↑Encyclia, ↑genus Encyclia, ↑Epidendrum, ↑genus Epidendrum, ↑Epipactis, ↑genus Epipactis, ↑Glossodia, ↑genus Glossodia, ↑Goodyera, ↑genus Goodyera, ↑Grammatophyllum, ↑genus Grammatophyllum, ↑Gymnadenia, ↑genus Gymnadenia, ↑Gymnadeniopsis, ↑genus Gymnadeniopsis, ↑Habenaria, ↑genus Habenaria, ↑Hexalectris, ↑genus Hexalectris, ↑Himantoglossum, ↑genus Himantoglossum, ↑genus Laelia, ↑genus Liparis, ↑Listera, ↑genus Listera, ↑Malaxis, ↑genus Malaxis, ↑genus Masdevallia, ↑genus Maxillaria, ↑Miltonia, ↑genus Miltonia, ↑genus Odontoglossum, ↑genus Oncidium, ↑Ophrys, ↑genus Ophrys, ↑Paphiopedilum, ↑genus Paphiopedilum, ↑genus Phaius, ↑Phalaenopsis, ↑genus Phalaenopsis, ↑Pholidota, ↑genus Pholidota, ↑Phragmipedium, ↑genus Phragmipedium, ↑Platanthera, ↑genus Platanthera, ↑Plectorrhiza, ↑genus Plectorrhiza, ↑Pleione, ↑genus Pleione, ↑genus Pleurothallis, ↑genus Pogonia, ↑Psychopsis, ↑genus Psychopsis, ↑Pterostylis, ↑genus Pterostylis, ↑Rhyncostylis, ↑genus Rhyncostylis, ↑Sarcochilus, ↑genus Sarcochilus, ↑Scaphosepalum, ↑genus Scaphosepalum, ↑Schomburgkia, ↑genus Schomburgkia, ↑Selenipedium, ↑genus Selenipedium, ↑genus Sobralia, ↑Spiranthes, ↑genus Spiranthes, ↑genus Stanhopea, ↑genus Stelis, ↑Trichoceros, ↑genus Trichoceros, ↑genus Vanda, ↑genus Vanilla
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\\ˌ ̷ ̷kəˈdāsēˌē\ noun pluralUsage: capitalized
: a very large family of highly specialized perennial herbaceous monocotyledonous plants (order Orchidales) that have entire sheathing or scalelike leaves, tuberous or bulbous or thickened roots, and extremely complex usually showy flowers with a calyx of three often petaloid sepals, a corolla of three petals of which one forms a distinctive and often spurred labellum, a column consisting of the variously fused style, stigma, and stamen, the pollen usually aggregated into pollinia which adhere to visiting insects, and an inferior ovary and that reproduce by minute seeds lacking endosperm and containing chlorophyll — see orchid, orchis
Useful english dictionary. 2012.