Neottia

Key takeaways

Neottia belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Neottia to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Neottia from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 continued to divide the genus into two.

Species As of May 2026, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:

Neottia acuminata Schltr. Neottia alternifolia (King & Pantl.) Szlach. Neottia anthropophora (Aver. & V.C.Nguyen) R.Kr.Singh & Sanjeet Kumar Neottia atayalica T.C.Hsu Neottia auriculata (Wiegand) Szlach. Neottia bambusetorum (Hand.-Mazz.) Szlach. Neottia banksiana (Lindl.) Rchb.f. Neottia bicallosa X.H.Jin Neottia biflora (Schltr.) Szlach. Neottia bifolia (Raf.) Baumbach Neottia borealis (Morong) Szlach. Neottia brevicaulis (King & Pantl.) Szlach. Neottia brevilabris Tang & F.T.Wang Neottia breviscapa T.C.Hsu Neottia camtschatea (L.) Spreng. Neottia chandrae Raskoti, J.J.Wood & Ale Neottia chawalongensis J.D.Ya & D.Z.Li Neottia chenii S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb Neottia cinsbuensis T.P.Lin & D.M.Huang Neottia confusa Bhaumik Neottia convallarioides (Sw.) Rich. Neottia cordata (L.) Rich. Neottia deltoidea (Fukuy.) Szlach. Neottia dentata (King & Pantl.) Szlach. Neottia dihangensis Bhaumik Neottia divaricata (Panigrahi & P.Taylor) Szlach. Neottia fangii (Tang & F.T.Wang ex S.C.Chen & G.H.Zhu) S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb Neottia flabellata (W.W.Sm.) Szlach. Neottia fugongensis (X.H.Jin) J.M.H.Shaw Neottia fukuyamae T.C.Hsu & S.W.Chung Neottia furusei T.Yukawa & Yagame Neottia gaudissartii Hand.-Mazz. Neottia hohuanshanensis T.P.Lin & Shu H.Wu Neottia inagakii Yagame, Katsuy. & T.Yukawa Neottia inayatii (Duthie) Schltr. Neottia japonica (Blume) Szlach. Neottia karoana Szlach. Neottia kiusiana T.Hashim. & S.Hatus. Neottia kuanshanensis H.J.Su Neottia latilabra (Evrard ex Gagnep.) M.H.J.van der Meer Neottia lihengiae J.D.Ya, H.Jiang & D.Z.Li Neottia linzhiensis X.H.Jin Neottia listeroides Lindl. Neottia longicaulis (King & Pantl.) Szlach. Neottia mackinnonii Deva & H.B.Naithani Neottia makinoana (Ohwi) Szlach. Neottia maolanensis M.N.Wang Neottia megalochila S.C.Chen Neottia meifongensis (H.J.Su & C.Y.Hu) T.C.Hsu & S.W.Chung Neottia microauriculata T.C.Hsu Neottia microglottis (Duthie) Schltr. Neottia microphylla (S.C.Chen & Y.B.Luo) S.C.Chen, S.W.Gale & P.J.Cribb Neottia milinensis J.J.Lei & X.H.Jin Neottia morrisonicola (Hayata) Szlach. Neottia motuoensis X.H.Jin Neottia mucronata (Panigrahi & J.J.Wood) Szlach. Neottia nanchuanica (S.C.Chen) Szlach. Neottia nandadeviensis (Hajra) Szlach. Neottia nankomontana (Fukuy.) Szlach. Neottia nepalensis (N.P.Balakr.) Szlach. Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich. Neottia nipponica (Makino) Szlach. Neottia nujiangensis X.H.Jin Neottia nyinyikyawii X.H.Jin, A.T.Mu & H.A.Mung Neottia oblata (S.C.Chen) Szlach. Neottia ovata (L.) Hartm. Neottia pantlingii (W.W.Sm.) Tang & F.T.Wang Neottia papilligera Schltr. Neottia pekinensis (X.Y.Mu & Bing Liu) R.Kr.Singh & Sanjeet Kumar Neottia piluchiensis T.P.Lin Neottia pinetorum (Lindl.) Szlach. Neottia pseudonipponica (Fukuy.) Szlach. Neottia puberula (Maxim.) Szlach. Neottia ruisuiensis T.P.Lin Neottia shenlengiana T.C.Hsu Neottia smallii (Wiegand) Szlach. Neottia smithiana Schltr. Neottia smithii (Schltr.) Szlach. Neottia taibaishanensis P.H.Yang & K.Y.Lang Neottia taizanensis (Fukuy.) Szlach. Neottia tatakaensis T.C.Hsu & H.C.Hung Neottia tenii Schltr. Neottia tenuis (Lindl.) Szlach. Neottia unguiculata (W.W.Sm.) Szlach. Neottia × veltmanii (Case) Baumbach Neottia wardii (Rolfe) Szlach. Neottia wuyishanensis B.Hua Chen & X.H.Jin Neottia yunnanensis (S.C.Chen) Szlach.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment (former Listera only)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Neottia

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Neottia claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Neottia before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Neottia ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Neottia

In research: Neottia appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Neottia in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Neottia is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Myco-heterotrophic orchids, Neottia, Neottieae genera, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Neottia outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Neottia in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Neottia means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Neottia out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Neottia in simple terms?

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.

Why does Neottia matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Neottia?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Neottia.