Derivation of name From the Greek bolbos, bulb, and phyllon, leaf, referring to the leaf-bearing pseudobulbs.

Sub family: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Dendrobieae 
Salient Features: 

• Epiphytic, occasionally lithophytic, or rarely terrestrial herbs.

• Sympodia arising from or (well) above one subterminal nodes from a previous sympodium. Basal part of each sympodium with three to many nodes forming a creeping or patent rhizome enveloped in cataphylls when young. Last node of each sympodium usually swollen into a pseudobulb

• Leaves usually persistent, sometimes deciduous, duplicate, inarticulate, usually petiolate, thinly herbaceous to coriaceous, usually glabrous. 

• Inflorescences usually heteranthous, consisting of modified sympodia sprouting from or (well) above nodes along rhizome, one- to many-flowered. Rachis usually a peduncle, but sometimes swollen into a spindle-shaped body, or widened and bilaterally flattened with flowers either inserted on flat side, or along the edges; usually glabrous, or papillose, rarely pubescent; floral bracts appressed to reflexed, caducous or persistent.

• Flowers either distichous or spirally arranged, (partly) resupinate or not, opening either simultaneously or in succession, (almost) closed to widely open. 

• Sepals free to adherent to connate (the dorsal to laterals, the laterals along their upper or lower margins, or all three), margins entire to erose to fimbriate, glabrous to papillose to ciliate, surface glabrous to papillose or hirsute; lateral sepals equal to dorsal sepal or distinctly different in length, shape, and surface ornamentation, and fused to column foot along basal part of their lower margins. 

• Petals free, similar to sepals or not. 

• Labellum usually with the base hinged to column foot by a flat strip of tissue allowing free movement of labellum parallel to bilateral plane of symmetry of flower, sometimes (partly) immobile because the strip of tissue is too short or too thick to allow movement, or because the labellum and column foot are fused; undivided to trilobed, margins entire to denticulate to fimbriate, glabrous to papillose to ciliate to vesiculose, adaxially with or without longitudinal ridges, more rarely with transverse ridges.

• Column usually ending in two stelidia; often winged along lower margins, column foot present; anther connected to apex of col umn by a thin strip of tissue, bilocular, pollinia two or four, the inner pair as large as the outer or (much) smaller, usually waxy, hard to soft, sometimes with stalks: caudicles, hamular or tegular stipes; stigma concave, transversely elliptic to a longitudinal slit, separated from anther by seam-like, thin or fleshy rostellum; viscidium usually inconspicuous, semi-liquid.

• Ovary and pedicel glabrous or covered in hairs; node at the base of pedicel level with attachment of subtending bract or (well) above it.

• Capsule obovoid to ellipsoid to subglobose, stalked or not, sometimes winged or triangular in cross-section.
   

1. Bulbophyllum section Cirrhopetalum

• Pseudobulbs 1–2-leaved at apex

• Labellum attached to a thin, flexible strip of tissue, hence mobile, if not kept (partly) in position by other flower parts

• Inflorescence a subumbellate raceme; pedicel plus ovary twice as long as rachis or longer

• Dorsal sepal free; lateral sepals twice to 5.5 times as long as the dorsal,

• It is represented by single genus at Sindhudurg