Nervilia
Nervilia, commonly known as shield orchids, is a genus of orchids with about 80 species widely distributed across  most of sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia (Saudi Arabia, India, China, Japan, Indochina, Indonesia, etc. ), Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Six species occur in Australia (2 or 3 of these endemic), with 16 in India, 10 in China and 5 in South Africa. Description
Orchids in the genus Nervilia are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with an oval to almost spherical tuber and sometimes a few short roots. One or two flowers are borne on an erect, fleshy, leafless flowering stem. When flowering the plants lack leaves, but a single erect or ground-hugging leaf develops after the flower has fully opened. The leaves are usually wrinkled or crumpled with distinct, fan-like veins, giving rise to the genus name. The flowers are often short-lived, lasting for only a few days. The sepals and petals are similar, but the labellum is prominent and often composed of three lobes. The genus is poorly understood, mainly because the flower and leaf are present at different times, so that herbarium specimens are often incomplete. Taxonomy and naming
The genus Nervilia was first formally described in 1827 by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré after an unpublished description by Philibert Commerson. The description was published in his book Voyage autour du monde. The name Nervilia is derived from the Latin word nervus meaning "nerve", referring to the veined leaves. Nervilia is the sole member of its subtribe, the Nerviliinae. Species list
The following is a list of species of Nervilia recognised by the Index Kewensis as of September 2023:

Nervilia acuminata (J.J.Sm.) Schltr. Nervilia adolphi Schltr. Nervilia affinis Schltr. Nervilia alishanensis T.C.Shu, S.W.Chung & C.M.Kuo
Nervilia appressifolia Aver. & V.C.Nguyen
Nervilia ballii G.Will. Nervilia bandana (Blume) Schltr. Nervilia beumeei J.J.Sm. Nervilia bicarinata (Blume) Schltr. Nervilia borneensis (J.J.Sm.) Schltr.1
Nervilia concolor (Blume) Schltr. Nervilia crociformis (Zoll. & Moritzi) Seidenf. Nervilia cumberlegii Seidenf. & Smitinand
Nervilia dilatata (Blume) Schltr. Nervilia falcata (King & Pantl.) Schltr. Nervilia fordii (Hance) Schltr. Nervilia fuerstenbergiana Schltr. Nervilia futago S.W.Gale & T.Yukawa
Nervilia gammieana (Hook.f.) Pfitzer
Nervilia gleadowii A.N.Rao
Nervilia gracilis Aver. Nervilia grandiflora Schltr. Nervilia hemratii S.W.Gale, Tetsana & Suddee
Nervilia hirsuta (Blume) Schltr. Nervilia hispida Blatt. & McCann
Nervilia holochila (F.Muell.) Schltr. Nervilia hookeriana (King & Pantl.) Schltr. Nervilia hungii Tuyama
Nervilia ignobilis Tuyama
Nervilia infundibulifolia Blatt. & McCann
Nervilia jacksoniae Rinehart & Fosberg
Nervilia juliana (Roxb.) Schltr. Nervilia kasiensis S.W.Gale & Phaways. Nervilia khaoyaica Suddee, Wattana & S.W.Gale
Nervilia khasiana (King & Pantl.) Schltr. Nervilia kotschyi (Rchb.f.) Schltr. Nervilia lanyuensis S.S.Ying
Nervilia leguminosarum Jum. & H.Perrier
Nervilia lilacea Jum. & H.Perrier
Nervilia linearilabia T.P.Lin
Nervilia mackinnonii (Duthie) Schltr. Nervilia macroglossa (Hook.f.) Schltr. Nervilia macrophylla Schltr. Nervilia maculata (E.C.Parish & Rchb.f.) Schltr. Nervilia maliana Schltr. Nervilia marmorata S.W.Gale, Suddee & Duangjai
Nervilia multinervis Cavestro
Nervilia muratana S.W.Gale & S.K.Wu
Nervilia oxyglossa Fukuy. Nervilia palawensis Schltr. Nervilia pallidiflora Schltr.1
Nervilia pangteyana Jalal, Kumar & G.S.Rawat
Nervilia parishiana (King & Pantl.) Schltr. Nervilia pectinata P.J.Cribb
Nervilia peltata B.Gray & D.L.Jones
Nervilia petaloidea Carr
Nervilia petraea (Afzel. ex Sw.) Summerh. Nervilia platychila Schltr. Nervilia plicata (Andrews) Schltr. Nervilia pubilabia T.C.Hsu, C.W.Chen & Luu
Nervilia pudica (Ames) W.Suarez
Nervilia punctata (Blume) Makino
Nervilia purpureotincta T.C.Hsu
Nervilia renschiana (Rchb.f.) Schltr. Nervilia sciaphila Schltr. Nervilia septemtrionarius T.P.Lin
Nervilia seranica J.J.Sm. Nervilia shirensis (Rolfe) Schltr. Nervilia similis Schltr. Nervilia simplex (Thouars) Schltr. Nervilia singaporensis Niissalo
Nervilia stolziana Schltr. Nervilia subintegra Summerh. Nervilia tahanshanensis T.P.Lin & W.M.Lin
Nervilia taitoensis (Hayata) Schltr. Nervilia taiwaniana S.S.Ying
Nervilia trangensis S.W.Gale, Suddee & Duangjai
Nervilia trichophylla Fukuy. Nervilia umenoi Fukuy. Nervilia umphangensis Suddee, Rueangr. & S.W.Gale
Nervilia uniflora (F.Muell.) Schltr. Nervilia viridis S.W.Gale, Watthana & Suddee
Nervilia winckelii J.J.Sm. References

 Plants of Southern Africa

External links
Nervilia - Commerson ex Gaudichaud-Beaupre

 
Nervilieae genera