Abstract
Calanthe Brown (1821: t. 573), with 217 species (WCSP, 2013), is widely distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the Pacific islands, tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, Mexico, Panama and northern South America. Some 51 species are found in China, of which 23 are endemic (Chen S.C. et al. 2009). Over 80% of the Chinese species of Calanthe are found in southwestern China, and a number of new species or new distributions have been described in recent years, for example, Calanthe dulongensis Li, Li & Dao (2003: 267), Calanthe fugongensis Jin & Chen (2008: 20) and Calanthe alleizettii Gagnepain (1950: 508; Jin & Chen 2007). All evidence indicates the existence of a diversity centre of Calanthe in southwestern China.