Genera Orchidacearum, which is currently the definitive work on orchid taxonomy, delimits Coryciinae as consisting of five genera: Disperis, Evotella, Ceratandra, Pterygodium, and Corycium, and it places Coryciinae in the mostly African tribe Diseae, along with four other subtribes: Brownleeinae, Huttonaeinae, Disinae, and Satyriinae.

[1] The genera of Coryciinae are small to medium in size and the number of species in each genus is as follows: Disperis (78), Pterygodium (19), Corycium (15), Ceratandra (6), and Evotella (1).

Molecular phylogenetic studies published after 2001 showed that Disperis is most closely related to Brownleea, rather than to the other genera of Coryciinae.

As with other orchids, pollen is placed onto precise locations on the body of the pollinator in packages called pollinaria (Pauw 2006; fig.

Floral syndromes accurately predict pollination by a specialized oil-collecting bee (Rediviva peringueyi, Melittidae) in a guild of South African orchids (Coryciinae).