Type: Angraecum bueae Schlechter (1906: 159).

The new genus is most similar morphologically to Diaphananthe (including Chamaeangis) in the structure of the rostellum and pollinarium but differs in the large and cup-shaped stigmatic cavity with large margins more or less winged; the pollinarium consists of a single calceiform viscidium and 1 or 2 stipes with fringed margins; it has distinctive ventricose fruits.

Epiphytic perennial herbs. Roots at the base of the stem, 2–6 mm in diameter. Stem with a few leaves in a fan, up to 60 mm long. Leaves imbricate, distichous, generally no more than ten, slightly conduplicate, oblong, linear to obovate, sometimes slightly falcate, with entire margins, bilobed at apex, generally unequally bilobed, 13–160 × 6–27 mm. Inflorescences emerging at the base of the stem, 1–20-flowered, nodes single-flowered, up to 300 mm long; bracts amplexicaul, 1–6 mm long. Flowers white or green, greenish, yellow, yellowish, beige, resupinate or non-resupinate, 6–15 mm in diameter; sepals, petals and labellum free; dorsal sepal entire, elliptic or lanceolate, or suborbicular to orbicular, margins entire, 3.0–8.6 × 1.2–4.1 mm; lateral sepals entire, elliptic to linear, sometimes lanceolate, margins entire, 3.2–8.1 × 1.0– 3.7 mm; petals elliptic to linear, sometimes lanceolate, margins entire, erose to slightly fringed, 2.8–8.0 × 1.0– 2.8 mm; lip entire, elliptic, cordate or triangular, margins entire or erose, with an inconspicuous callus, 2.5–8.7 × 1.5–5.0 mm; spur always present, 5–24 mm long; ovary and pedicel 4.0–9.0 × 0.7–1.5 mm. Column 1.0– 5.0 × 1.0– 3.5 mm; stigmatic cavity cup-shaped, margins more or less winged, 3 veins generally visible; rostellum triangular and bifid; pollinia 2, spherical; stipes 2 spatulate, completely separate or more or less connate along their inner margins, or 1 obcordate, margins clearly erose to fringed, 0.8–1.6 mm long, connected to a single calceiform or pisiform viscidium. Fruits ventricose, shortly pedicellate.

Distribution: —Tropical Africa, 100–3,000 m (Fig. 3).

Etymology: —The genus name comes from the ancient Greek ‘ kylix ’, a type of wine-drinking cup with a broad and relatively shallow body, and from ‘ anthos ’ meaning flower, for the broad cup-shaped stigmatic cavity of the flower. The ending ‘ anthe ’ also alludes to Diaphananthe, the genus in which formerly some of the species were included.

Notes: —The overall structure of the column of Kylicanthe, characterised by a deeply concave stigmatic cavity with winged margins, also resembles those of Aerangis and Eurychone, and accordingly the key characters to differentiate Kylicanthe from the former two genera are presented below.