They are terrestrial, evergreen, grass-like plants, barely recognisable as orchids and are distributed in humid areas of the Himalayan region, China, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland.

[2][3][4] The genus Apostasia was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume who published the description in Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië.

[3] The two genera in the subfamily Apostasioideae, Apostasia and Neuwiedia, differ from most other orchids in having three stamens.

[8][9][10] Species in the genus Apostasia are found from north-eastern India, Nepal and Bhutan to southern Japan, and through Southeast Asia to New Guinea and northern Australia.

The following is a list of species of Apostasia recognised by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as at August 2018:[1]