# Neottia

Neottia is a genus of orchids. The genus now includes the former genus Listera, commonly known as twayblades referring to the single pair of opposite leaves at the base of the flowering stem. The genus is native to temperate, subarctic and arctic regions across most of Europe, northern Asia (Siberia, China, the Himalayas, Central Asia, etc), and North America, with a few species extending into subtropical regions in the Mediterranean, Indochina, the southeastern United States, etc.
Neottia produces a racemose inflorescences with flowers in shades of green or dull pink through to maroon and purple. The lip of each flower is prominently forked or two-lobed. Some species (those which were previously the only members of the genus Neottia in the strict sense, such as the bird's-nest orchid, Neottia nidus-avis) are completely without chlorophyll and have leaves which are reduced to scales.

## Description

Neottia is a genus of relatively small terrestrial orchids. Some (the former genus Listera) have chlorophyll and are hence gaining their energy from photosynthesis. Others (the formerly narrowly defined genus Neottia) lack chlorophyll and are dependent on fungi for their nutrition (mycotrophic). The flowering stem has a number of greenish or brownish bracts at the base. In the photosynthetic members of the genus there are also two more-or-less opposite green leaves (very rarely more than two in Neottia ovata). The flowers are individually small, in shades of green, yellow, brown or red to purple. The lip is usually much larger than the other five tepals, and is almost always deeply divided into two lobes at the end. The other five tepals may form a loose hood. The pollinia are not stalked.

## Taxonomy

At one time the genus was divided between Neottia and Listera. Molecular phylogenetic studies in this century have shown that species lacking chlorophyll, such as Neottia nidus-avis, evolved within a larger clade of photosynthetic plants containing Neottia and Listera, so that the two genera should be combined. As Neottia is the older name, sources such as the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families and the Flora of China now use Neottia for all species formerly in Listera. Other sources continue to divide the genus into two.

### Species

Species accepted as of June 2014:
* Neottia acuminata Schltr. - China, Japan, Korea, Russian Far East, Himalayas
* Neottia alternifolia (King & Pantl.) Szlach. - Sikkim, Yunnan
* Neottia auriculata (Wiegand) Szlach. (syn. Listera auriculata) – auricled twayblade - eastern Canada, northeastern USA
* Neottia bambusetorum (Hand.-Mazz.) Szlach. - Yunnan
* Neottia banksiana (Lindl.) Rchb.f. in W.G.Walpers (syn. Listera caurina) - northwestern twayblade – from Alaska to California
* Neottia biflora (Schltr.) Szlach. - Sichuan
* Neottia bifolia (Raf.) Baumbach (syn. Listera australis Lindl.) – southern twayblade - eastern Canada, eastern USA
* Neottia borealis (Morong) Szlach. – northern twayblade - most of Canada including Arctic regions, plus mountains of western US
* Neottia brevicaulis (King & Pantl.) Szlach. - eastern Himalayas and Yunnan
* Neottia brevilabris Tang & F.T.Wang - Chongqing
* Neottia camtschatea (L.) Rchb.f. in H.G.L.Reichenbach - Siberia, Russian Far East, Mongolia, northwestern China, Central Asia
* Neottia chandrae Raskoti, J.J.Wood & Ale - Nepal
* Neottia chenii S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Sichuan, Gansu
* Neottia confusa Bhaumik - Arunachal Pradesh
* Neottia convallarioides (Sw.) Rich. – much of Canada, western and northern US, Komandor Islands of Russia - broad-lipped twayblade
* Neottia cordata (L.) Rich. – widespread across Europe, northern Asia, Canada, US - lesser twayblade, heartleaf twayblade
* Neottia dentata (King & Pantl.) Szlach. - Himalayas, Myanmar
* Neottia dihangensis Bhaumik - Arunachal Pradesh
* Neottia divaricata (Panigrahi & P.Taylor) Szlach. - Arunachal Pradesh, Tibet
* Neottia fangii (Tang & F.T.Wang ex S.C.Chen & G.H.Zhu) S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Sichuan
* Neottia flabellata (W.W.Sm.) Szlach. - mountains of northern Myanmar
* Neottia formosana S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Taiwan
* Neottia furusei T.Yukawa & Yagame - Japan
* Neottia gaudissartii Hand.-Mazz. - Shanxi, Henan, Liaoning
* Neottia inagakii Yagame, Katsuy. & T.Yukawa - Honshu
* Neottia japonica (Blume) Szlach. - Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Jeju-do Island of Korea
* Neottia karoana Szlach. - eastern Himalayas, Yunnan
* Neottia kiusiana T.Hashim. & S.Hatus. - Korea, Japan
* Neottia kuanshanensis H.J.Su - Taiwan
* Neottia latilabra (Evrard ex Gagnep.) ined.. - Vietnam
* Neottia listeroides Lindl. in J.F.Royle - mountains from Pakistan to Tibet and Assam
* Neottia longicaulis (King & Pantl.) Szlach. - eastern Himalayas, Tibet
* Neottia mackinnonii Deva & H.B.Naithani - western Himalayas
* Neottia makinoana (Ohwi) Szlach. - Japan
* Neottia megalochila S.C.Chen - Sichuan, Yunnan
* Neottia meifongensis (H.J.Su & C.Y.Hu) T.C.Hsu & S.W.Chung - Taiwan
* Neottia microglottis (Duthie) Schltr. - western Himalayas
* Neottia microphylla (S.C.Chen & Y.B.Luo) S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb - Yunnan
* Neottia morrisonicola (Hayata) Szlach. - Taiwan
* Neottia mucronata (Panigrahi & J.J.Wood) Szlach. - China, Japan, Korea, eastern Himalayas
* Neottia nanchuanica (S.C.Chen) Szlach. - Chongqing
* Neottia nandadeviensis (Hajra) Szlach. - Uttarakhand
* Neottia nankomontana (Fukuy.) Szlach. - Taiwan
* Neottia nepalensis (N.P.Balakr.) Szlach - Nepal
* Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich. – widespread across most of Europe; also Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Iran, Caucasus, western Siberia - bird's-nest orchid
* Neottia nipponica (Makino) Szlach. - Russian Far East, Korea, Japan
* Neottia oblata (S.C.Chen) Szlach. - Chongqing
* Neottia ovata (L.) Bluff & Fingerh. - Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, Southwestern Asia – common twayblade, eggleaf twayblade
* Neottia pantlingii (W.W.Sm.) Tang & F.T.Wang - eastern Himalayas
* Neottia papilligera Schltr. - Japan, Korea, Russian Far East, northeastern China
* Neottia pinetorum (Lindl.) Szlach. - Himalayas of India, Nepal, China, etc.
* Neottia pseudonipponica (Fukuy.) Szlach. - Taiwan
* Neottia puberula (Maxim.) Szlach. - China, Japan, Korea, Siberia, Russian Far East
* Neottia smallii (Wiegand) Szlach. – Appalachian Mountains of eastern US - kidneyleaf twayblade
* Neottia smithiana Schltr. - Sichuan, Shaanxi
* Neottia smithii (Schltr.) Szlach. - Sichuan
* Neottia suzukii (Masam.) Szlach. - Taiwan
* Neottia taibaishanensis P.H.Yang & K.Y.Lang - Shaanxi
* Neottia taizanensis (Fukuy.) Szlach. - Taiwan
* Neottia tenii Schltr. - Yunnan
* Neottia tenuis (Lindl.) Szlach. - Tibet, Nepal, eastern Himalayas
* Neottia tianschanica (Grubov) Szlach. - Xinjiang
* Neottia unguiculata (W.W.Sm.) Szlach. - Myanmar
* Neottia ussuriensis (Kom. & Nevski) Soó - Primorye region of Russia
* Neottia × veltmanii (Case) Baumbach - Michigan (N. auriculata × N. convallarioides)
* Neottia wardii (Rolfe) Szlach. - China, Tibet
* Neottia yunnanensis (S.C.Chen) Szlach. - Yunnan