Orchids in the genus Calanthe are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk. Some species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The flowers are delicate but showy, white, pink, yellow or orange and crowded near the end of an erect, sometimes arching flowering stem. The sepals and petals are relatively narrow, similar in size and spread widely. The labellum has three or four spreading lobes and in most species there is a spur at the base. Unlike similar orchids, the labellum of Calanthe orchids is fused to the column.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

The genus Calanthe was first formally described in 1821 by Robert Brown and his manuscript was published in The Botanical Register.^[8][9] The name Calanthe is derived from the Ancient Greek words kallos meaning "beauty"^[10]: 131 and anthos meaning "flower".^[10]: 94

Calanthe species are found in all tropical areas, but mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia. Some species also range into subtropical lands such as China, India, Madagascar, Australia, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.^[8]

The following is a list of species of Calanthe recognised by the Plants of the World Online as at August 2018:^[11]

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  Calanthe triplicata, the Calanthe type species, from Florida International University
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  Botanical illustration of Calanthe masuca, from The Orchid Album vol. 8
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  Calanthe discolor from Shiga prefecture, Japan
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  Botanical illustration of Calanthe brevicornu from John Lindley's Sertum Orchidaceum
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  Flowers of Calanthe argenteostriata
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  Flowers of Calanthe izu-insularis