Geosiris aphylla Baillon 1890, sometimes called the "earth-iris", is an unusual species in the iris family Iridaceae. Native to Madagascar and other islands in the Indian Ocean, it is a small mycotrophicsaprophyte lacking chlorophyll. It is the sole member of the genus.
Its rhizomes are slender and scaly, and stems are simple or branched. The leaves are alternate, but having no use, are reduced and scale-like. The flowers are light purple.
For this reason, and because of the complexity of the family, estimates of the number of orchid species vary from 15,000 to 25,000, and the number of genera from 400 to 800.
The family is placed in the order Orchidales with 3 smaller families—the Geosiridaceae, Burmanniaceae, and Corsiaceae—with a combined total of fewer than 150 species.
Orchids and their allies are distinguished from other orders of flowering plants by a combination of floral characteristics rather than by a single characteristic unique to the group.
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