Endangered, new to science orchid discovered in Ecuador with the help of
a commercial nursery

Date:
February 28, 2022
Source:
Pensoft Publishers
Summary:
An astounding new species of rare orchid has been discovered in the
cloud rainforest of Northern Ecuador. Known from a restricted area
in the province of Carchi, the plant is presumed to be a critically
endangered species, as its rare populations already experience the
ill-effects of climate change and human activity. The discovery was
aided by a local commercial nursery, which was already cultivating
these orchids. The study is published in the open-access journal
PhytoKeys.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An astounding new species of orchid has been discovered in the
cloud rainforest of Northern Ecuador. Scientifically named Maxillaria anacatalina-portillae, the plant -- unique with its showy, intense yellow flowers -- was described by Polish orchidologists in collaboration with an Ecuadorian company operating in orchid research, cultivation and supply.


========================================================================== Known from a restricted area in the province of Carchi, the orchid
is presumed to be a critically endangered species, as its rare
populations already experience the ill-effects of climate change and
human activity. The discovery was aided by a local commercial nursery,
which was already cultivating these orchids. The study is published in
the open-access journal PhytoKeys.

During the past few years, scientists from the University of Gda?sk
(Poland) have been working intensely on the classification and species delimitations within the Neotropical genus Maxillaria --one of the biggest
in the orchid family. They have investigated materials deposited in most
of the world's herbarium collections across Europe and the Americas,
and conducted several field trips in South America in the search of the astonishing plants.

The first specimens of what was to become known as the new to science Maxillaria anacatalina-portillae were collected by Alex Portilla,
photographer and sales manager at Ecuagenera, an Ecuadorian company
dedicated to orchid research, cultivation and supply, on 11th November
2003 in Maldonado, Carchi Province (northern Ecuador). There, he
photographed the orchid in its natural habitat and then brought it to
the greenhouses of his company for cultivation.

Later, its offspring was offered at the commercial market under the name
of a different species of the same genus: Maxillaria sanderiana 'xanthina' ('xanthina' in Latin means 'yellow' or 'red-yellow').

In the meantime, Prof. Dariusz L. Szlachetko and Dr. Monika M. Lipi?ska
would encounter the same intriguing plants with uniquely colored
flowers on several different occasions. Suspecting that they may be
facing an undescribed taxon, they joined efforts with Dr. Natalia Olędrzyńska and Aidar A.

Sumbembayev, to conduct additional morphological and phylogenetic
analyses, using samples from both commercial and hobby growers, as well
as crucial plants purchased from Ecuagenera that were later cultivated
in the greenhouses of the University of Gdańsk.

As their study confirmed that the orchid was indeed a previously unknown species, the scientists honored the original discoverer of the astonishing plant by naming it after his daughter: Ana Catalina Portilla Schro"der.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Pensoft_Publishers. The original
text of this story is licensed under a Creative_Commons_License. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
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A_specimen_of_the_newly_described_orchid_species_Maxillaria_anacatalina-
portillae ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Monika M. Lipińska, Natalia Olędrzyńska, Alex
Portilla,
Dorota Łuszczek, Aidar A. Sumbembayev, Dariusz L. Szlachetko.

Maxillaria anacatalinaportillae (Orchidaceae,
Maxillariinae), a new remarkable species from Ecuador. PhytoKeys,
2022; 190: 15 DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.190.77918 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220228091143.htm

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