4 New Orchid Species Discovered in June

June has been a great month for new orchid species discoveries.  Check out these cool new flowers!

Odontochilus putaoensis

This terrestrial orchid was discovered in northern Myanmar by a group of botanists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The orchid has greenish-brown flowers that are about 1cm across.

Odontochilus putaoensis

Image credit: Aung et al, Phytokeys 2018

Odontochilus putaoensis closeup

Image credit: Aung et al, Phytokeys 2018

• Authors: Ye Lwin Aung, Aye Thin Mu, Xiaohua Lin
• Published in: Phytokeys, 2018
• Odontochilus putaoensis (Cranichideae, Orchidaceae), a new species from Myanmar

Pleurothallis hawkingii 

This is a epiphytic orchid from Costa Rica blooms with pale yellow to white flowers, which sometimes have a distinctive purplish hue. It was described by a pair of botanists from the Universidad de Costa Rica.

Pleurothallis hawkingii

Image credit: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez Phytotaxa 2018

Pleurothallis hawkingii

Image credit: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez, Phytotaxa 2018

Pleurothallis hawkingii purple variant

Image credit: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez, Phytotaxa 2018

• Authors: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez
• Published in: Phytotaxa, 2018
• Pleurothallis hawkingii and Pleurothallis vide-vallis (Orchidaceae; Epidendroideae), two new species from Cordillera de Guanacaste in Costa Rica

Pleurothallis vide-vallis

Another Costa Rican Pleurothallis species described in the same paper as P. hawkingii, Pleurothallis vide-vallis is a small epiphytic species that blooms with yellow flowers that have ranging degrees of pink hues.

Pleurothallis vide-vallis

Image credit: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez, Phytotaxa 2018

Pleurothallis vide-vallis closeups of yellow and purple variants

Image credit: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez, Phytotaxa 2018

• Authors: Adam Karremans and Jose Esteban Jimenez
• Published in: Phytotaxa, 2018
• Pleurothallis hawkingii and Pleurothallis vide-vallis (Orchidaceae; Epidendroideae), two new species from Cordillera de Guanacaste in Costa Rica

Gastrodia kachinensis

Gastrodia are a genus of parasitic orchids, which grow primarily underground.  They have no leaves, do not photosynthesize, and instead feed on the fungi that grow around their roots. Gastrodia kachinensis is a new species discovered in Myanmar by a pair of botanists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Left: A Gastrodia kachinensis inflorescencees, barely visible against the forest floor.  Right: closeup of G. kachinensis

Image credit: Ye Lwin Aung and Xiao-hua Jin, Phytokeys 2018

• Authors: Ye Lwin Aung and Xiao-hua Jin
• Published in: Phytokeys, 2018
• Gastrodia kachinensis (Orchidaceae), a new species from Myanmar

Coelogyne victoria-reginae: new orchid species discovered in Myanmar

Coelogyne victoria-reginae

Image credit: Zhou et al. PhyotKeys 2018 (https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/23298/)

A group of botanists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with HponkanRazi Wildlife Sanctuary in Myanmar and the Forest Department Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry in China have described a new species of Coelogyne which grows in the Nat Ma Taung (Mt.Victoria) National Park.

Coelogyne victoria-reginae

Image credit: Zhou et al. PhytoKeys 2018 (https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/23298/)

This epiphytic orchid produces brownish-red flowers that are about 0.5 inches in length (1.2 cm). It blooms in April and May. The species is named after the Mount Victoria region of Myanmar where it was found.

Coelogyne victoria-reginae

Image credit: Zhou et al. PhytoKeys 2018 (https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/23298/)

Authors: Shi-Shun Zhou, Yun-Hong Tan, Xiao-Hua Jin, Kyaw Win Maung, Myint Zyaw, Ren Li, Rui-Chang Quan, Qiang Liu
Published in: PhytoKeys (May 18, 2018)
Coelogyne victoria-reginae (Orchidaceae, Epidendroideae, Arethuseae), a new species from Chin State, Myanmar

New orchid species discovered in Thailand: Dendrobium Obchantiae

Dendrobium obchantiae

Image Credit: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University (Image Link)

There are an estimated 30,000 species of orchids, and hundreds of new orchid species are discovered each year. A group from Chulalungkorn University in Thailand and the Department of National Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation published a paper in April describing a new species of dendrobium which grows in the mixed deciduous forests of northern Thailand.

Dendrobium obchantiae full plant view

Photo by W. Buddhawong

Image Credit: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University (Image Link)

Dendrobium obchantiae closeup
Image Credit: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University (Image Link)

Authors: Phattaravee Prommanut, Somran Suddee, Manit Kidyoo

Published in Phytotaxa (April 27, 2018)

A narrow endemic new species of Dendrobium sect. Stachyobium from Thailand (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae)

Orchid Science Update: Studying biodiversity of two Floridian orchid species

Encyclia tampensis

Photo Credit: (Wikimedia commons image) Andrea Westmoreland (Flickr gallery)

This reports comes out of the Million Orchid Project, an orchid reintroduction program in south Florida. The authors of the study completed a genetic characterization of two Floridian orchid species in order to help inform conservation efforts.

Encyclia tampensis, pictured above, is an epiphytic orchid native to south Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas, where it grows in cypress swamps and tropical hammocks.  Florida law regulates collection of wild-grown E. tampensis due to threat of commercial exploitation.

Cyrtopodium punctatum

Photo Credit: (Wikimedia commons image) Everglades National Park (Flickr gallery)

Cyrtopodium punctatum, or Cowhorn orchid, is another epiphytic orchid species from Florida. This orchid used to be widespread, but due to intense harvesting is now categorized as "Near Threatened".

Low genetic diversity can result when the numbers of a given species dwindle. This can hamper preservation efforts, as the species becomes more susceptible to diseases and the problems of inbreeding.  In order to asses the genetic diversity of E. tampensis and C. punctatum, this study collected genetic samples from orchids in the wild and from cultivation, and identified 10 microsattelite markers in each species that showed variation between individual orchids. 

Future conservation efforts and breeding programs will be able to use these microsattelite markers to make sure that they are maintaining a healthy genetic diversity in the species.

• Link to article: Microsatellite primers for two threatened orchids in Florida: Encyclia tampensis and Cyrtopodium punctatum (Orchidaceae)

• Authors: Joanna Weremijewicz, Jasmin I. Almonte, Vanessa S. Hilaire, Frank D. Lopez, Stephen H. Lu, Sarah M. Marrero, Catherine M. Martinez, Edson A. Zarate, Ana K. Lam, Samantha A. N. Ferguson, Nicolas Z. Petrakis, Kelsey A. Peeples, Ebony D. Taylor, Natalie M. Leon, Carolina Valdes, Michael Hass, Andrew B. Reeve, Danielle T. Palow, and Jason L. Downing

• Published in: Applications in Plant Sciences, April 2016