This study presents a regional conservation assessment of orchid species in the Tropical Dry Forest (TDF) of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. We compiled a curated dataset of 391 georeferenced occurrence records representing 50 species across 34 genera, integrating vouchered herbarium specimens, published literature, and observational records from biodiversity databases, subjected to record-by-record quality control. Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) were estimated following IUCN Red List Criterion B. To evaluate subcriteria B(a) (severe fragmentation) and B(b)(iii) (continuing decline in habitat area and quality), we applied an improved version of the EECORisk pipeline. This pipeline integrates Hansen Global Forest Change (GFC) data to assess habitat patch configuration and detect ongoing forest loss (2001–2023) around species occurrences. Of the 50 assessed species, seven were categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), 23 as Endangered (EN), 14 as Vulnerable (VU), and six as Least Concern/Near Threatened (LC/NT) at the departmental scale, underscoring the severity of habitat loss and fragmentation in TDF remnants. Orchid richness peaked between 900 and 1300 m a.s.l., and localities such as Hacienda El Medio (Zarzal) emerged as key areas concentrating records and richness. Overall, these results demonstrate the utility of the EECORisk pipeline for transparent, reproducible regional conservation assessments and underscore the need to prioritize habitat protection, connectivity restoration, and targeted monitoring in fragmented TDF ecosystems.
Florida’s naturalized orchids are mostly terrestrials (10/15, 5/10 epiphytes), horticultural escapes (14/15), native to Asia (10/15), tropical American (4/10), and Africa (1/15). Only 3 species are widespread in Florida, Eulophia graminea, Eulophia maculata, and Zeuxine strateumatica, and can be considered invasive based on their spread beyond the areas of their initial establishments. Most of the other orchid species occur in one or two counties and have spread little so are considered naturalized but not invasive. The longest naturalized orchids (5/15) escaped more than 50 years ago, another group (5/10) more than 20 years ago, while the most recently naturalized species (5/10) less than 20 years ago. The 15 naturalized orchids comprise 12% (15/117 species) of Florida’s orchid flora, which is higher than most other places except for Hawaii’s (18/21) which has only 3 native orchids. Most orchids naturalized in Florida (10/15) have also naturalized elsewhere in the world. Failure to reproduce is the reason why most orchids don’t naturalize. To attempt to understand how Florida’s 15 naturalized orchids have overcome this barrier, the literature was examined to learn what their breeding systems and pollinators are in their native areas. This enabled predictions to be made about how these orchids reproduce in Florida. Four of the orchids need no pollinators because they are autogamous or apomictic. The native region pollinators of two of the orchids occur in Florida, five of the orchids are probably pollinated by congeneric species of their native area pollinators (Apis, Centris and Xylocopa), Two of the orchids are pollinated by close analogues of their native area pollinators (butterflies and hummingbirds). Overcoming other barriers to their naturalization, such as the lack of suitable mycorrhizal fungi or the inability to deal with abiotic limitations, has occurred but are poorly known and understood.
Abstract. Pteroglossa macrantha (Orchidaceae: Spiranthinae) was previously known in Argentina only from a historical collection made by Ekman in 1908 in the province of Misiones, with no subsequent records confirming its presence in the country. During recent botanical surveys in the province of Corrientes, a new population was discovered, representing the first modern record for Argentina after more than a century and one of the southernmost confirmed occurrences of the species in the country. Detailed morphological observations confirmed its identity and revealed slight variations in leaf proportions compared with specimens from Brazil and Paraguay. The plants of this species grow in seasonally flooded alluvial grasslands on sandy substrates near the Paraná River. The regional conservation assessment, based on IUCN criteria, indicates that P. macrantha should be considered Critically Endangered (CR) in Argentina due to its extremely small area of occupancy, its occurrence in a single locality, and ongoing habitat degradation. This finding highlights the importance of the riparian grasslands of Corrientes as biodiversity refuges and priority areas for the conservation of rare and threatened orchids of the Southern Cone.
A new species of Bryobium Lindl. is described based on specimens collected in northern Gayo Plateau, Sumatra. It is provisionally assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) due to its narrow range and imminent threats to its habitat. A detailed description, photographs, an illustration, and a key to Sumatran Bryobium species are provided.
Telipogon is a highly diverse genus in the Andes, yet it remains incompletely documented in northern Peru. Telipogon vasqueznunezii is morphologically similar to T. hystrix but differs in the oblong-ligulate lip, the two small lobes at the lip base, the absence of a protrusion on the lip, and the tuft of acicular setae on the columnar appendix. A detailed description, illustrations, a distribution map, and a conservation assessment are provided here.
Five orchid species belonging to four genera, namely, Bulbophyllum deergongense, Bulbophyllum nepalense, Liparis sootenzanensis, Spiranthes himalayensis and Zeuxine gracilis, are reported for the first time from Bhutan. These findings are based on systematic native floristic diversity field surveys carried out between 2023 and 2025. We provide descriptions, along with information on type, distribution, phenology, habitat, notes, and colour plates to facilitate accurate species identification and support practical conservation efforts.
Orchidaceae is one of the most diverse plant families in Indonesia, yet many species remain poorly documented across the archipelago. Here we report ten orchid species as new national records for Indonesia: Bulbophyllum nematocaulon, Bulbophyllum sanguineomaculatum, Cleisomeria lanatum, Corybas calopeplos, and Corybas holttumii from Sumatra; Acanthophippium bicolor and Anoectochilus papuanus from Java; Dendrobium teretifolium from the Lesser Sunda Islands, Bulbophyllum thiurum from Kalimantan; and Aerides agustiana from Sulawesi. For each species, we provide taxonomic notes, distributional data, type information, phenology, ecological observations, line drawings, and photographs. These new records extend the known geographic ranges of the species and confirm the importance of field exploration and herbarium study for documenting Indonesia’s remarkable orchid diversity.
In this study, we report the diversity, geographical distribution, and ecology of the Encyclia species from the state of Maranhão, Brazil. For each species treated, we present morphological descriptions, geographic distribution maps, taxonomic and ecological comments, an identification key for the species occurring in the state and photographic plates. Three species were recorded: E. gonzalezii, E. granitica, and E. linearifolioides, with E. gonzalezii being endemic to Brazil. Encyclia granitica has been locally rediscovered approximately 93 years after its only known collection in Maranhão. We also included new morphological data for this species, for which a description of the fruits had not been available until now. We found that the epicarp of the three species exhibited significant morphological differences, which may aid in their identification and delimitation. Given the complicated taxonomy of the genus, further studies focused on the epicarp may determine the extent to which it can assist in distinguishing additional species and in assessing its phylogenetic signal.
In Peru, Chloraea previously included five species. However, recent field explorations and herbarium specimen revisions have led to the discovery of a new species from northern Peru. Here, we describe and illustrate Chloraea aequatorialis, the species with the most northern distribution recorded for the genus, ranging from 5º50’ to 7º56’ S. The new species closely resembles C. septentrionalis, with which it grows partially in sympatry in the departments of Cajamarca and La Libertad, but it can be easily distinguished by its larger sepals and petals, a lip disc covered by thin, narrow, and long appendages, a longer lip claw, column, and anther, and a shorter stigma. We provide information on the habitat, distribution, and conservation status of the new species, along with an updated description of C. septentrionalis and a key to the Peruvian species of Chloraea.
The binomial Vanilla guianensis, published by Splitgerber in 1841, has long been debated as potentially based on a mixed collection of two taxa belonging to different Vanilla subgenera. Most of the literature has placed the name under Vanilla subg. Membranacea, while it has also been less frequently associated with Vanilla subg. Vanilla. In this study, we reassessed its typification and demonstrate that the original material and protologue are congruent and not based on a mixed collection of different species. We hypothesize Vanilla guianensis is a member of Vanilla subg. Vanilla, and that the name is conspecific with V. hostmannii. We further clarify the nomenclatural and typification status of V. surinamensis, a name published by Reichenbach on the basis of Splitgerber material, and identify Pulle as the first author to have effectively neotypified Splitgerber’s V. guianensis. We reach this conclusion by conducting a comprehensive analysis of Splitgerber’s Vanilla collections, supported by an examination of his herbarium catalogue and fieldbook, together with an extensive historical review of the post-Splitgerber literature. Finally, we discuss the implications of our proposal for the circumscription of these and other implicated taxa, including Vanilla acuta.
Louise von Panhuys (1763–1844) and Nancy Anne Kingsbury Wollstonecraft (1791–1828) stand out historically as the first female illustrators of neotropical orchids. Louise von Panhuys epitomized an era when high social status equated to a refined education; as the writers of her time described, a classic “lady of leisure.” In contrast Nancy K. Wollstonecraft, was the daughter of a clergyman from New England, born into the broad American middle class which shaped the early decades of the United States’ independent life. Both shared a common passion for: the exuberant forests of the Caribbean European colonies: von Panhuys in the Dutch territory of Suriname and Wollstonecraft in the Spanish island of Cuba. The artistic result of these two women’s works is astounding and went in different directions: while von Panhuys painted to entertain herself and with a mostly descriptive purpose, Wollstonecraft combined her artistic talent and her botanical knowledge into a three-volume manuscript, Specimens of the Fruits and Plants of the Island of Cuba (unfortunately never published), with accurate and detailed descriptions and beautiful illustrations. Biographies of these two extraordinary women are accompanied by complete sets of their orchid paintings, eight by Panhuys (along with several of her landscapes and scenes from Suriname) and nine by Wollstonecraft. A clarifying note: Wollstonecraft’s name is indistinctly given as ‘Nancy Anne’, ‘Anne’, or ‘Nancy’. The author has adhered to the name as given in the different bibliographical sources.
On March 26, 1863, Charles Darwin wrote a letter to Joseph Dalton Hooker, describing his attempts to germinate orchid seeds. In this letter, he mentioned his hope to observe orchid seedlings and expressed a “notion that [the seeds]. . . are parasites in early youth on cryptogams!!”. This statement appears to predict Noël Bernard’s 1899 discovery that orchid seeds require fungal colonization for successful germination. However, there is some uncertainty regarding Darwin’s exact meaning. The term “cryptogams” in his time commonly included fungi but also encompassed bryophytes, pteridophytes, and other non-vascular plants. Since Darwin mentioned sphagnum in his experiments, it is possible to suggest that he may have considered mosses as potential hosts rather than fungi. But, since this was a personal letter to Joseph D. Hooker rather than a formal publication, Darwin may have been less precise in his terminology. Nevertheless, considering Darwin’s broader interest in plant-fungal interactions, it is very plausible that he regarded fungi as possible symbiotic partners in orchid germination. The extent of Darwin’s prescience on the orchid-fungal relationship may be debatable terminologically (did he mean fungi by using “cryptogams”?). However, his speculation was remarkably intuitive, questioning whether orchids required an external biological partner for germination. Darwin’s letter demonstrates his foresight, but it does not diminish Noël Bernard’s monumental achievement. Bernard made his discovery independently, without knowledge of Darwin’s observations, relying solely on his extraordinary scientific talent. His work remains a cornerstone of orchid science. Unfortunately, Darwin’s prescient letter seems not to have been noticed, appreciated, or cited often enough in the orchid literature during its 162 years of existence.
The first naturalization of the orchid Cymbidium aloifolium in the world is reported in a residential neighborhood in southern Florida near Miami. A survey for naturalized plants of this epiphytic orchid, which is native to South and Southeast Asia, found 101 plants growing on 38 different trees belonging to 13 different species. Of these 101 plants, 53 were mature, capable of reproduction, 37 were juveniles, and 11 were seedlings. Seven plants bore a total of 86 fruit. The tree hosts with the most plants were the palms Phoenix roebelenii and Thrinax radiata, and a mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). A small remnant of the Pine Rockland within this residential area had three native tree species with four plants of this orchid, indicating the potential of the orchid to invade this unique, rare plant community. Cymbidium aloifolium’s occurrence at higher latitudes and altitudes in its native Asia than where it has naturalized in Florida suggests that it should be able to live farther north in Florida.
A new species of Pleurothallis subgenus Talpinaria, discovered in the department of Tolima, Central Andes of Colombia, is described, illustrated, and discussed. The new species, Pleurothallis vallejoi is compared with P. talpinaria from Colombia and Venezuela, P. trimeroglossa from Peru and Ecuador, P. jostii, presumed to occur in Ecuador, and P. gracilicolumna from Colombia. The new species is distinguished from the previous ones by a lip with subquadrate lateral lobes, with narrowly elliptical basal auricles, and a callus that is elongated, thin, and slightly elevated, with the median lobe occupying almost half of the total lip length. Additionally, the pollination mechanism of the P. talpinaria complex is described and discussed.
Seedling survival is strongly dependent on forest environmental conditions, which in Madagascar have been heavily degraded. Rising temperatures and declining rainfall further exacerbate the vulnerability of these ecosystems. We investigated seedling recruitment across ecologically diverse sites to identify the key factors influencing germination and seedling survival in aphyllous Vanilla species. In situ seedling monitoring and in vitro seed germination trials were conducted to assess tolerance to water stress at various developmental stages. Among the 13 study sites, only three showed positive recruitment rates, with two sites exhibiting rates exceeding 50%. Recruitment was influenced by factors such as fruiting success, soil acidity, high silt content, and clay-rich soil composition. After 12 months of monitoring, approximately 85% of seedlings were lost following severe drought conditions. In vitro asymbiotic germination assays revealed two distinct peaks: rapid germination of immature white seeds after four months, followed by delayed germination of mature black seeds eight months later. The assessment of drought tolerance across protocorm developmental stages exposed to a high-concentration gelling agent revealed that advanced-stage protocorms had increased resistance to water stress. However, no developmental stage was capable of surviving a prolonged six-month drought. Due to the absence of seedling recruitment in several locations, aphyllous vanilla recruitment may benefit from assisted propagation through seed cultures and the subsequent reintroduction of young plantlets into natural habitats. Moreover, conservation and restoration programs should incorporate research on developing soil conditions that facilitate vanilla seedling recruitment.
Cypripedium irapeanum known in Mexico as "Pichohuaxtle" in Nahuatl, is the most emblematic Mexican lady’s slipper orchid and one of the most studied cypripedioid species in Mesoamerica. Despite its protected status in Mexico, habitat loss driven by land-use change has severely reduced its populations. Ex situ conservation approaches are urgently needed to safeguard its genetic diversity, yet seed germination in the genus remains challenging due to innate dormancy and specific nutritional requirements. We collected seeds from two Mexican ecosystems where this species is distributed —Quercus and Tropical Dry Forests— and isolated mycorrhizal fungi from adult plants to examine both symbiotic and asymbiotic cultures. We found limitations in seed production due to flower ripening, ineffective pollination, or parasitism. Furthermore, germination was achieved after a cold treatment, and the best medium to obtain seedlings in vitro was Norstog medium. Two mycorrhizal fungi, isolated from adult plants belonging to the family Tulasnellaceae, formed a clade with previous isolates from American slipper orchids. One of these isolates promoted germination but later produced fungal incompatibility in vitro. Our study contributes to clarify previously undescribed processes in the biology of this highly appreciated and vulnerable species, supporting future efforts to propagate it from seed and obtain successful cultures.
The municipality of San Antonio del Tequendama, Cundinamarca, Colombia, harbours remnants of cloud forests that support a rich diversity of orchids, primarily threatened by habitat loss. This study aims to guide conservation efforts through fieldwork and herbarium records, focused on orchid spatial distribution. The study area covers 82 km², situated at elevations between 1090 and 2700 meters. We conducted 31 field trips between 2017 and 2019. A total of 151 species from 54 genera were documented, offering the most comprehensive list of orchid species recorded in the region, accounting for 3.51% of Colombia’s orchid species. The most diverse genera were Epidendrum (23 spp.), Maxillaria (13 spp.), Stelis (10 spp.), and Cyrtochilum (10 spp.). Thirty genera (19.86%) were represented by only one species. Six threatened species were identified: Cattleya trianae and Masdevallia caudata (Endangered), Pleurothallis mundula, Cyrtochilum ioplocon, Dracula psittacina, and Oncidium gloriosum (Vulnerable). Although the conservation status of some endemic species (26 spp., 17.21%) remains unknown or unassessed, many observed during field trips are rare and vulnerable to illegal collection for commercial purposes. The remaining forests of San Antonio del Tequendama, especially those within protected natural reserves, are crucial for in situ conservation actions at the local level. Our findings on species distribution provide a baseline for assessing the conservation status of orchid populations in cloud forests.
The fourth release of the series “New Species and Records of Orchidaceae from Costa Rica” documents and illustrates 17 taxa of the Costa Rican orchid flora. The new species records belong to the subtribes Pleurothallidinae (9 spp.), Maxillariinae (3 spp.), and Oncidiinae (2 spp.), including the description of two new species in Pleurothallis and Telipogon. Two new forms are described for Isochilus latibracteatus (Ponerinae) and Masdevallia striatella(Pleurothallidinae), and their differences from the typical forms are discussed. Additionally, the first record of a naturalized population of Phalaenopsis stuartiana(Aeridinae) in Costa Rica is discussed. Detailed descriptions, based on selected Costa Rican material, are included for all taxa, along with illustrations and/or Lankester Composite Digital Plates (LCDP). Information on their etymology, distribution, habitat, phenology, and distinguishing features compared to morphologically similar species is also provided. Finally, following the publication of the most recent Costa Rican orchid catalogue, we have identified some omissions and other new species described, which are discussed here. The orchid flora of Costa Rica now includes 1695 species and nine forms.
Male orchid bees gather fragrance chemicals from the surfaces of about 700 species of neotropical orchids and pollinate them in the process. The males display the collected chemicals during their courtship, and female orchid bees will mate only with males, displaying a species-specific blend of collected chemicals. Given this reality, the discovery of a female Euglossa dilemma dead in the bucket trap of a flower of the perfume orchid Coryanthes panamensis bearing the orchid’s pollinarium is extraordinary. There are no previous reports of female orchid bees visiting a perfume orchid and picking up pollinia of the orchids. Bearing a pollinarium indicates that this female bee made at least two visits to the flowers and that these visits were unlikely to be accidental. The flower in which the bee was found was on a cultivated plant grown in a residential garden in Coral Gables, Florida. Neither the orchid nor the orchid bee are native to Florida and occur in different areas of tropical America. Why this female orchid bee visited this orchid is considered, including the possibility that it may be a gynandromorph. Despite being a morphological female, the bee may have had neurological anomalies that caused it to exhibit a male-like attraction to this perfume orchid.
A new species, Pleurothallis cop-biodiversitatis, belonging to Pleurothallis subsection Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae, from the Central Andes of Colombia, is described and illustrated. This new species is compared with Pleurothallis matudana and Pleurothallis tandapiensis, the most morphologically similar species. Pleurothallis cop-biodiversitatis primarily differs from these species in having a lip with erose margins, more pronounced basal lobes, a rounded, apiculate apex, and a sulcate blade with a lanceolate, strongly vesiculate concavity.
