Résumé
The aim of this study was to characterise the remarkable architectural development of the orchid species Chrysoglossum ornatum Blume. Living specimens were collected in two sites in Laos, a country where this species had not been recorded before. Examination of herbarium material of the three other species of Chrysoglossum has confirmed the regularity of this growth pattern at the genus level. Such a vegetative architecture, unique within the plant kingdom, was first described by Barthélémy (1987) for a South American orchid species, Gongora quinquenervis Ruiz and Pav. The nature of this growth pattern within the genus Chrysoglossum and within this particular species, as well as the occurrence of similar patterns in the Orchidaceae is discussed