Ponera
(from poneros, miserable; referring to the appearance of the species). SYN. Nemaconia. ORD. Orchideae. A genus comprising six or seven species of stove, epiphytal orchids, natives of Central America and Mexico. Flowers rather small, axillary, in tufts upon the young leafy or the old leafless stems; sepals erect, fleshy, the lateral ones largest, and connate with the elongated foot of the column; petals free; lip naked, two-lobed, wedge-shaped, articulate with the foot of the column, which is short and terete; anther membranous, four-celled, containing four pollen masses, adhering in pairs by means of two powdery caudicles. Leaves alternate, in two rows, almost grass-like. The species introduced--amethystina, graminifolia, Kienastii, leucantha, macroglossa, pleurostachys, and striata--are all of botanical interest only.