They are evergreen or deciduous terrestrial plants with thick roots, small oval pseudobulbs, large corrugated leaves and upright, sometimes arching flowering stems.

Orchids in the genus Calanthe are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk.

[2][3][4][5][6][7] The genus Calanthe was first formally described in 1821 by Robert Brown and his manuscript was published in The Botanical Register.

[10]: 94 Calanthe species are found in all tropical areas, but mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia.

Some species also range into subtropical lands such as China, India, Madagascar, Australia, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.