Orchidoides
/or-kih-DOY-deez/🏷️ Taxonomy●●● Advanced
A resemblance epithet applied to plants whose flowers recall the complex, irregular form of an orchid — with bilaterally symmetrical petals, a prominent lip-like structure, or an elaborate, showy arrangement. Appears as orchidoides (both genders).
Etymology
From the family Orchidaceae + Greek -oides (resembling).
Example
“Diascia orchidoides and Schizanthus orchidoides both produce the complex, labellum-bearing flowers that immediately suggest an orchid to even a casual observer.”