See text Orchis is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang.

[1] The name is from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids.

The inflorescence is a cylindrical to globular spike, 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long, with yellow, red to purple flowers.

Since it was polyphyletic, it has been divided by Pridgeon et al., into several new genera (see Reference): Ponerorchis, Schizodium, Steveniella.

The majority of neotropical orchid species can be found in southern Central America, northwest South America As of September 2024[update], Plants of the World Online accepted 22 species, along with a number of subspecies:[3] As of June 2014[update], the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepted 37 hybrid species, along with a number of hybrid subspecies:[4]