Europe's rarest orchid rediscovered on 'lost world' volcano in the Azores

Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - 18:00 in Earth & Climate

This is a view eastward along the spine of the Azorean island of São Jorge, showing the area where the new orchid has been discovered. Image: Rob Poot. Researchers studying speciation of butterfly orchids on the Azores have been startled to discover that the answer to a long-debated question "Do the islands support one species or two species?" is actually "three species". Hochstetter's Butterfly-orchid, newly recognized following application of a battery of scientific techniques and reveling in a complex taxonomic history worthy of Sherlock Holmes, is arguably Europe's rarest orchid species. Under threat in its mountain-top retreat, the orchid urgently requires conservation recognition.

Read the whole article on Biology News Net

More from Biology News Net

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net