The Pleurothallidinae are a neotropical subtribe of plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

s of the orchid family (Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

) including 29 genera in more than 4000 species.

Naturally occurring species of this subtribe are among the more popular orchids of horticulturalists, especially the genera Dracula, Dryadella, Masdevallia and Restrepia.

The following genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 are considered monophyletic : Barbosella

Barbosella

Barbosella is a genus of mostly creeping orchids. The genus has about 20 species, widespread from Central America to Brazil. Named after João Barbosa Rodrigues, an investigator of Brazilian orchids, they have single flowers with a unique lip base that works like a ball and...

(including Barbrodia), Dracula

Dracula orchid

The orchid genus Dracula, abbreviated as Drac in horticultural trade, consists of 118 species. The strange name Dracula, literally means "little dragon", referring to the strange aspect of the two long spurs of the sepals. They were once included in the genus Masdevallia, but became a separate...

, Dresslerella

Dresslerella

Dresslerella is a genus of miniature orchids, with about 13 species. The genus is named after orchidologist Rober L. Dressler. Some species are noted to be pubescent.-List of species:...

, Dryadella

Dryadella

Dryadella is a genus of miniature orchids, formerly included in the genus Masdevallia. Plants are typically composed of a tuft of leaves from 3 to 6 cm long. The small flowers are often conspicuously spotted, and are borne at the base of the leaves. There are about 40 species, distributed...

, Lepanthes

Lepanthes

Lepanthes is a large genus of orchids with about 800–1000 species, distributed in the Antilles and from Mexico through Bolivia . The genus is abbreviated in horticultural trade as Lths...

, Masdevallia

Masdevallia

Masdevallia, abbreviated Masd in horticultural trade, is a large genus of flowering plants of the Pleurothallidinae, a subtribe of the orchid family . There are over 500 species, grouped into several subgenera...

, Platystele

Platystele

Platystele is a genus of orchids, comprising about 95 mostly miniature species. The genus is widespread from Mexico to Bolivia but infrequent in Brazil.-Images:...

, Porroglossum

Porroglossum

Porroglossum is a genus of orchids with 28 species, distributed in the Andes...

, Restrepia

Restrepia

Restrepia, abbreviated Rstp in horticultural trade, is a small genus of 49 orchids in the orchid family , closely related to Pleurothallis. Named in honor of Don Jose Restrepo, it tends to be more showy than most other Pleurothallids...

, Scaphosepalum

Scaphosepalum

Scaphosepalum is a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. The species in this genus are mostly found in Central and South America...

, Trisetella

Trisetella

Trisetella is a genus of about 20 species of South American orchid, native to the Andes. They bear small flowers with fused sepals and fused petals. The synsepal bears three hair-like tails, which is the namesake of Trisetella ....

, and Zootrophion

Zootrophion

Zootrophion is a genus of about 12 species of orchid, distributed from Jamaica and Central America through the Andes. The stems have inflated, flattened sheaths. The flowers bear sepals that fuse at their tips to form box-like structures that resemble animal's heads, hence the generic name, which...

.

On the other hand Pleurothallis is polyphyletic and is represented in five clades. Myoxanthus

Myoxanthus

Myoxanthus is a genus of orchids with about 50 species, widely distributed in Central and South America. This genus is a close ally of Pleurothallis....

is also polyphyletic, represented in two clades.