Burmannia is a genus of flowering plants long thought of as related to orchids, although more recent studies suggest closer affinities with either the Dioscoreales or the Melanthiales.Jonker, F. P. 1938. A monograph of the Burmanniaceae. Mededeelingen van het Botanisch Museum en Herbarium van de Rijks Universiteit te Utrecht 51: 1–279.Leake, J. R. 1994. Tansley review no. 69. The biology of myco-heterotrophic (‘saprophytic’) plants. New Phytologist 127: 171–216.Wood, C. E. Jr. 1983. The genera of Burmanniaceae in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University 64: 293–307. The plants are herbs, partially autotrophic (photosynthetic) but also partially parasitic on soil fungi.
Burmannia is native to tropical and subtropical parts of Africa, eastern Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere. Three are regarded as native to the US:Govaerts, R., Wilkin, P. & Saunders, R.M.K. (2007). World Checklist of Dioscoreales. Yams and their allies: 1-65. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
The name Burmannia is a taxonomic patronym honoring the Dutch botanist Johannes Burman (1706 - 1779).
Systematics Burmannia comprises the following species.
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