Cymbidium macrorhizon Lindley 1833

Cymbidium macrorhizon is the only species in the genus which is putatively mycoheterotrophic. It was first described by Lindley (1833), but there are numerous synonyms for this species which are all listed on WCSP (2021). Suetsugu et al. (2018) found for this species, by analysing the stable isotope signatures in different life stages, that enough carbon is produced by photosynthesis when the plant is fruiting and therefore the authors speak of a partial mycoheterotrophic strategy. This species shows an interesting example for the evolution of mycoheterotrophy but has to be seen critically when counting all MHP species.