Phylogenetic analyses using morphological and molecular data of the orchid subtribe Goodyerinae were performed using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. Two hypotheses, proposed by Dressler (1993) and Szlachetko (1995), were tested. The results showed that neither hypothesis can be supported, and that there are no morphological characteristics that can define groups within the subtribe Goodyerinae. Monophyletic groups within the subtribe cannot be defined using molecular information from three genes.
Systematic revision of Goodyera section Goodyera from Indonesia was investigated using phenetic analyses (cluster analysis, non-metric multidimensional scaling), and discriminant function analysis. The results showed that, of eight forms initially recognized, only three independent taxa can be recognized by these analyses. The independent taxa are Goodyera bifida, G. procera, and G. reticulata. Six subspecies are recognized under Goodyera reticulata. They are G. reticulata subsp. colorata, G. reticulata subsp. gibbsiae, G. reticulata subsp. gemmata, G. reticulate subsp. pusilla, and G. reticulata subsp. reticulata.
Fungal associations with members of Goodyera section Goodyera from Indonesia were examined using data from the fungal nuclear ITS region. Indonesian species of Goodyera section Goodyera have a broader range of fungal associates than do other taxa from the subtribe that had been previously studied. Members of Goodyera section Goodyera from Indonesia are associated not only with fungi of the phylum Basidiomycetes, including Rhizoctonia-like forms and Russula, but also with some species from the phylum Ascomycetes. In contrast, temperate species of the subtribe (Goodyera oblongifolia) showed the stricter association with previously defined fungal taxa (Rhizoctonia groups).