Abstract
Only four genera, Zeuxine, Hetaeria, Cheirostylis and Platylepis, of subtribe Goodyerinae (subfamily Spiranthoideae tribe Erythrodeae, sensu Dressler 1981) have been previously recorded for tropical Africa. Five are known for Madagascar. This compares poorly with tropical Asia where at least 26 genera are known. Whilst preparing the account of the subtribe for the third volume of Genera Orchidacearum (Pridgeon et al., in prep.), a collection of a fifth genus from tropical Africa has been identified. The collection (Ball 650) from Mozambique, which had been mistakenly identified as Platylepis glandulosa, is Goodyera afzelii Schltr., previously reported only from a few collections from Madagascar. Ball's collection came from the Chimanimani Mountains, close to the border with Zimbabwe. Similar disjunct distributions between tropical East Africa and Madagascar have been recorded for other orchids such as Oeceoclades decaryana (H. Perrier) Garay & P. Taylor, 0. pandurata (Rolfe) Garay & P. Taylor, 0. quadriloba (Schltr.) Garay & P. Taylor, Bulbophyllum humblotii Rolfe and Cheirostylis gymnochiloides (Ridl.) Rchb. f. (see la Croix & Cribb 1995, 1998). The genus Goodyera is known from North Africa and Macaronesia but has not previously been reported from tropical Africa. The key to genera in Flora Zambesiaca (la Croix & Cribb 1995) needs to be amended as follows:
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