Gastrochilus Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 1: 22. 1829, not D. Don (1825).

Rhizomes tuberous or elongate. Leaves basal or cauline, petiolate; ligule 2-lobed; leaf blade ovate, oblong, or lanceolate. Inflorescences terminal on pseudostems or on separate shoots arising from rhizomes; bracts 2-ranked, apical one developing first, each subtending 1 bracteole and 1 flower. Calyx tubular. Corolla tube exserted from calyx, slender; lobes subequal. Lateral staminodes petaloid, usually wider than corolla lobes. Labellum obovate or broadly oblong, larger than corolla lobes and lateral staminodes, strongly concave, base narrow, grooved, margin crisped, apex entire or 2-cleft. Filament erect; anther locules parallel, dehiscing by slits or apical pores, base without spur; connective with or without appendage. Ovary 3-loculed or incompletely so; placentation basal or axile. Capsule oblong, 3-valved. Seeds black; aril laciniate.

About 50 species: tropical Asia; three species (one endemic) in China.