Resupination generally means being upside-down, supine, facing upward. The word is derived from the Latin. In a biological context, the concept is commonly expressed with the adjectives "resupinate" or "non-resupinate."

Examples in green plants

Structures in a green plant will sometimes twist around from their original positions into a resupinate form.

Alstroemeriaceae

The genera Bomarea

Bomarea

Bomarea is one of the two major genera in the plant family Alstroemeriaceae. Most occur in the Andes. Several species are occasionally found as garden plants....

and Alstroemeria

Alstroemeria

Alstroemeria , commonly called the Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas, is a South American genus of about 120 species of flowering plants. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity, one in central Chile, the other in eastern Brazil...

 often exhibit resupinate leaves.

Orchidaceae

In the 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,...

, the flower tepals typically comprise three sepals

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

 and three petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

s. One petal, called the lip or labellum

Labellum

Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...

, is typically quite different from the other two and comes from the same direction of the flower as the stigmatic surface. As an orchid flower bud develops, the lip is usually uppermost; in most cases, the flower stem twists to present the lip pointing down by the time the flower opens. That is, most orchid flowers are resupinate. Because resupination is the most common condition in orchid flowers, the lack of resupination is notable; flowers which do not exhibit resupination are described as "non-resupinate."

Examples in fungi

In fungi, the term "resupinate" describes a fruiting body consisting of a fertile surface adnate to the substrate

Substrate (biology)

In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon and grows on. A substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials and animals. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives on top of the algae. See also substrate .-External...

. Certain genera such as Peniophora

Peniophora

Peniophora is a genus of fungi which are plant pathogens. Members of the genus belong to the class Basidiomycetes, order Russulales, and family Peniophoraceae. The genus is widespread, and contains 62 species. The species of Peniophora are resupinate, or crust-like, and are described as corticioid....

are notable for many of their species being resupinate.