Atlantic Islander
12-13-2013, 05:19 AM
Posted on 11 December 2013.
http://imageshack.us/a/img189/3926/fm2u.png
European botanists have rediscovered the Hochstetter’s butterfly-orchid, one of Europe’s rarest orchid species, spanning all nine islands of the Azores.
The findings, published in the peer review PeerJ journal, explain how the rare species was found and confirm that the islands support three kinds of this rare orchid species, rather than one.
The flower was first found by German botanist Karl Hochstetter, when he visited six of the nine Azorean islands in 1838, and appeared illustrated in a 1844 journal.
The species now recognized was identified using modern data gathered from lab tests and other analytical techniques. The orchids may have originated from a single species that arrived by seed millions of years ago.
According to researchers “They are compared through detailed multivariate and univariate analyses with four widespread continental European relatives in the P. bifolia-chlorantha aggregate, represented by 154 plants from 25 populations, and with the highly misleading original taxonomic descriptions. Physiographic and ecological data were also recorded for each study population.”
The research team was led by independent botanist Prof. Richard Bateman in collaboration with local botanist Dr. Mónica Moura (University of the Azores) and plant morphologist Dr. Paula Rudall (of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK).
“This remarkable species languished unrecognized for 173 years,” commented Bateman to the BBC. “It’s rediscovery and recognition beautifully illustrate the value of integrating field-based and laboratory-based approaches to generate a modern monograph. This methodology both demonstrates that the species is genuine and allows us to make informed recommendations for its future conservation,” he said.
Under threat in its mountain-top vulnerable environment, the Hochstetter’s butterfly-orchid needs immediate attention and recognition to survive extinction on the islands, researchers have recommended.
source (http://portuguese-american-journal.com/europes-rarest-butterfly-orchid-species-found-in-the-azores/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img842/919/ygyj.jpg
This shows details of the flowers of Hochstetter's Butterfly-orchid, a newly recognized and exceptionally rare orchid recently discovered on the Azorean island of São Jorge.
An incredibly rare species of butterfly orchid has been "rediscovered" in the Azores, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The species is so rare that it may be confined to a single mountaintop forest, according to a researcher associated with the find.
It's one of three species of butterfly orchid that scientists found flowering on the Azores.
The finding raises the urgency for conservation actions to save the orchids from the ongoing threats of deforestation, agricultural expansion, and "pretty but highly invasive flowers that have been introduced to the islands," Richard Bateman, an independent botanist in England, explained to NBC News in an email.
He and colleagues collected the three plant species between 2009 and 2012 as part of a study focused on the butterfly orchid's origin to the islands and its later diversification. Subsequent field and laboratory research indicated the plant first arrived from the Mediterranean and rapidly underwent miniaturization and speciation.
Genetic and observational data made it relatively easy to distinguish the widespread "short-spurred" butterfly orchid and the rarer "narrow-lipped" butterfly orchid. The third and rarest orchid was found in a forest of dwarf laurel tress on the central island of São Jorge, which had exceptionally large flowers.
"The rarest species, which is probably the most recent to have evolved, has reverted to broadly resembling the appearance of its suspected ancestral species in mainland Europe," Bateman said.
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/4112/ecm8.jpg
This is the more widespread short-spurred Butterfly-orchid -- the likely ancestor of Hochstetter's butterfly-orchid -- photographed on the adjacent island of Pico.
He added that his own sleuthing through the published literature and scientific collections revealed that German botanist Karl Hochstetter discovered "all three butterfly-orchid species in 1838 and suspected that they were indeed separate species."
However, the science of distinguishing species at the time was in its infancy and Hochstetter's father, famous botanist Christian Hochstetter, published an account of their expedition in 1844 that "ignored one of the three specimens and mis-described the other two," Bateman said.
"So, my argument would be that the rarest of the three species (Hochstetter's butterfly-orchid) is indeed new to science, even though its name, and the original specimen associated with the name, are not," he added.
The findings were published online Tuesday in the journal PeerJ. Co-authors include Paula Rudall of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Monica Moura of the University of Azores.
source (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/extremely-rare-orchid-rediscovered-remote-island-2D11718342)
One of Europe’s rarest orchid species has been rediscovered in the Azores, a group of volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The discovery of the Hochstetter's butterfly-orchid confirms that the islands support three kinds of orchid species, rather than one. The findings, published in the journal PeerJ, explains how the rare species was found.
Using a combination of field and lab tests, a team of botanists decided to focus their studies on the Azores islands.
"Like many evolutionary biologists before me, I decided that an island system would be much simpler and would therefore yield less ambiguous results," lead researcher Professor Richard Bateman, from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, told the BBC.
At first the team was focused on two kinds of butterfly-orchids, but by using morphology and DNA sequences, they were able to distinguish between the widespread short-spurred butterfly-orchid and the rarer narrow-lipped butterfly-orchid. It was only when the team surveyed an orchid population on top of a volcanic ridge on the central island of Sao Jorge that they made a surprising discovery: a third species.
"[I] was astonished when our field expeditions revealed the existence of a third -- and exceptionally rare -- species, growing in such a dramatic, primeval landscape,” Bateman told the BBC. "I was even more astonished when my subsequent studies in herbaria and libraries showed that this exceptionally rare orchid, found only on one mountain-top on a single Azorean island, had in fact been found by the very first serious botanist to visit the Azores, in 1838."
The species, which was identified using data gathered from lab tests and other analytical techniques, was also found to be illustrated in a 1844 journal, but was later confused as belonging to a more-common Azorean species. The flower was found by German botanist Karl Hochstetter when he visited six of the nine Azorean islands in 1838.
The new species is exceptionally vulnerable and needs to be protected, Bateman said, pointing to how dairy farming and other development in the area threatens the forests that the orchids need to survive.
"This remarkable species languished unrecognized for 173 years," Bateman said in a statement. "It's rediscovery and recognition beautifully illustrate the value of integrating field-based and laboratory-based approaches to generate a modern monograph. This methodology both demonstrates that the species is genuine and allows us to make informed recommendations for its future conservation."
source (http://www.ibtimes.com/rarest-orchid-species-rediscovered-hochstetters-butterfly-orchid-found-azores-photo-1502376)
Dec. 10, 2013 — 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.
A lavishly illustrated publication, titled "Systematic revision of Platanthera in the Azorean archipelago: not one but three species, including arguably Europe's rarest orchid," was published today in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PeerJ.
The research team, led by independent botanist Prof. Richard Bateman in collaboration with local botanist Dr. Mónica Moura (University of the Azores) and plant morphologist Dr. Paula Rudall (of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew), originally viewed these butterfly-orchids as a simple, tractable system ideal for studying the origin of species and so they initiated a focused exploration of all nine Azorean islands.
A combination of field and laboratory research soon showed that butterfly-orchids first colonized the Azores from the Mediterranean rather than from North America, rapidly undergoing miniaturization of their ancestrally large flowers. It proved easy to distinguish the widespread Short-spurred Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera pollostantha) from the rarer Narrow-lipped Butterfly-orchid (P. micrantha) using morphology, DNA sequences, and the identities of mycorrhizal fungi associated with the roots of the orchids. However, this 'simple' study was thrown into disarray when Dr. Moura explored remote dwarfed laurisilva forests along the highest volcanic ridge on the central island of São Jorge and found an unusual population of butterfly orchids.
"I immediately recognised the flowers as being exceptionally large for an Azorean butterfly-orchid," said Moura" and e-mailed images to Richard Bateman for confirmation that they were new to science." Data gathered subsequently in the laboratory using several analytical techniques all pointed to the discovery of a new species, and suggested that the species -- named Platanthera azorica in the PeerJ paper -- originated relatively recently by a remarkable restoration of the large-flowered morphology of its presumed mainland ancestor.
Bateman then realised that this "new" orchid had in fact been illustrated (but never correctly identified as a new species) in the first ever Flora of the islands, published in 1844, but thereafter had consistently been confused with other more frequent Azorean species. The illustrated specimen, deposited in the herbarium at Tübingen by German botanist Karl Hochstetter, was collected during his tour of six of the nine Azorean islands in 1838. However, as Hochstetter did not visit São Jorge (where P. azorica was most recently 're-discovered') it is entirely possible that the population he originally described may remain to be discovered on another Azorean island.
In the meantime, the team are anxious to obtain conservation protection for the newly-recognized and exceptionally rare orchid. "This remarkable species languished unrecognized for 173 years," commented Bateman. "It's rediscovery and recognition beautifully illustrate the value of integrating field-based and laboratory-based approaches to generate a modern monograph. This methodology both demonstrates that the species is genuine and allows us to make informed recommendations for its future conservation."
source (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131210072117.htm)
http://imageshack.us/a/img189/3926/fm2u.png
European botanists have rediscovered the Hochstetter’s butterfly-orchid, one of Europe’s rarest orchid species, spanning all nine islands of the Azores.
The findings, published in the peer review PeerJ journal, explain how the rare species was found and confirm that the islands support three kinds of this rare orchid species, rather than one.
The flower was first found by German botanist Karl Hochstetter, when he visited six of the nine Azorean islands in 1838, and appeared illustrated in a 1844 journal.
The species now recognized was identified using modern data gathered from lab tests and other analytical techniques. The orchids may have originated from a single species that arrived by seed millions of years ago.
According to researchers “They are compared through detailed multivariate and univariate analyses with four widespread continental European relatives in the P. bifolia-chlorantha aggregate, represented by 154 plants from 25 populations, and with the highly misleading original taxonomic descriptions. Physiographic and ecological data were also recorded for each study population.”
The research team was led by independent botanist Prof. Richard Bateman in collaboration with local botanist Dr. Mónica Moura (University of the Azores) and plant morphologist Dr. Paula Rudall (of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK).
“This remarkable species languished unrecognized for 173 years,” commented Bateman to the BBC. “It’s rediscovery and recognition beautifully illustrate the value of integrating field-based and laboratory-based approaches to generate a modern monograph. This methodology both demonstrates that the species is genuine and allows us to make informed recommendations for its future conservation,” he said.
Under threat in its mountain-top vulnerable environment, the Hochstetter’s butterfly-orchid needs immediate attention and recognition to survive extinction on the islands, researchers have recommended.
source (http://portuguese-american-journal.com/europes-rarest-butterfly-orchid-species-found-in-the-azores/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img842/919/ygyj.jpg
This shows details of the flowers of Hochstetter's Butterfly-orchid, a newly recognized and exceptionally rare orchid recently discovered on the Azorean island of São Jorge.
An incredibly rare species of butterfly orchid has been "rediscovered" in the Azores, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The species is so rare that it may be confined to a single mountaintop forest, according to a researcher associated with the find.
It's one of three species of butterfly orchid that scientists found flowering on the Azores.
The finding raises the urgency for conservation actions to save the orchids from the ongoing threats of deforestation, agricultural expansion, and "pretty but highly invasive flowers that have been introduced to the islands," Richard Bateman, an independent botanist in England, explained to NBC News in an email.
He and colleagues collected the three plant species between 2009 and 2012 as part of a study focused on the butterfly orchid's origin to the islands and its later diversification. Subsequent field and laboratory research indicated the plant first arrived from the Mediterranean and rapidly underwent miniaturization and speciation.
Genetic and observational data made it relatively easy to distinguish the widespread "short-spurred" butterfly orchid and the rarer "narrow-lipped" butterfly orchid. The third and rarest orchid was found in a forest of dwarf laurel tress on the central island of São Jorge, which had exceptionally large flowers.
"The rarest species, which is probably the most recent to have evolved, has reverted to broadly resembling the appearance of its suspected ancestral species in mainland Europe," Bateman said.
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/4112/ecm8.jpg
This is the more widespread short-spurred Butterfly-orchid -- the likely ancestor of Hochstetter's butterfly-orchid -- photographed on the adjacent island of Pico.
He added that his own sleuthing through the published literature and scientific collections revealed that German botanist Karl Hochstetter discovered "all three butterfly-orchid species in 1838 and suspected that they were indeed separate species."
However, the science of distinguishing species at the time was in its infancy and Hochstetter's father, famous botanist Christian Hochstetter, published an account of their expedition in 1844 that "ignored one of the three specimens and mis-described the other two," Bateman said.
"So, my argument would be that the rarest of the three species (Hochstetter's butterfly-orchid) is indeed new to science, even though its name, and the original specimen associated with the name, are not," he added.
The findings were published online Tuesday in the journal PeerJ. Co-authors include Paula Rudall of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Monica Moura of the University of Azores.
source (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/extremely-rare-orchid-rediscovered-remote-island-2D11718342)
One of Europe’s rarest orchid species has been rediscovered in the Azores, a group of volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The discovery of the Hochstetter's butterfly-orchid confirms that the islands support three kinds of orchid species, rather than one. The findings, published in the journal PeerJ, explains how the rare species was found.
Using a combination of field and lab tests, a team of botanists decided to focus their studies on the Azores islands.
"Like many evolutionary biologists before me, I decided that an island system would be much simpler and would therefore yield less ambiguous results," lead researcher Professor Richard Bateman, from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, told the BBC.
At first the team was focused on two kinds of butterfly-orchids, but by using morphology and DNA sequences, they were able to distinguish between the widespread short-spurred butterfly-orchid and the rarer narrow-lipped butterfly-orchid. It was only when the team surveyed an orchid population on top of a volcanic ridge on the central island of Sao Jorge that they made a surprising discovery: a third species.
"[I] was astonished when our field expeditions revealed the existence of a third -- and exceptionally rare -- species, growing in such a dramatic, primeval landscape,” Bateman told the BBC. "I was even more astonished when my subsequent studies in herbaria and libraries showed that this exceptionally rare orchid, found only on one mountain-top on a single Azorean island, had in fact been found by the very first serious botanist to visit the Azores, in 1838."
The species, which was identified using data gathered from lab tests and other analytical techniques, was also found to be illustrated in a 1844 journal, but was later confused as belonging to a more-common Azorean species. The flower was found by German botanist Karl Hochstetter when he visited six of the nine Azorean islands in 1838.
The new species is exceptionally vulnerable and needs to be protected, Bateman said, pointing to how dairy farming and other development in the area threatens the forests that the orchids need to survive.
"This remarkable species languished unrecognized for 173 years," Bateman said in a statement. "It's rediscovery and recognition beautifully illustrate the value of integrating field-based and laboratory-based approaches to generate a modern monograph. This methodology both demonstrates that the species is genuine and allows us to make informed recommendations for its future conservation."
source (http://www.ibtimes.com/rarest-orchid-species-rediscovered-hochstetters-butterfly-orchid-found-azores-photo-1502376)
Dec. 10, 2013 — 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.
A lavishly illustrated publication, titled "Systematic revision of Platanthera in the Azorean archipelago: not one but three species, including arguably Europe's rarest orchid," was published today in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PeerJ.
The research team, led by independent botanist Prof. Richard Bateman in collaboration with local botanist Dr. Mónica Moura (University of the Azores) and plant morphologist Dr. Paula Rudall (of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew), originally viewed these butterfly-orchids as a simple, tractable system ideal for studying the origin of species and so they initiated a focused exploration of all nine Azorean islands.
A combination of field and laboratory research soon showed that butterfly-orchids first colonized the Azores from the Mediterranean rather than from North America, rapidly undergoing miniaturization of their ancestrally large flowers. It proved easy to distinguish the widespread Short-spurred Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera pollostantha) from the rarer Narrow-lipped Butterfly-orchid (P. micrantha) using morphology, DNA sequences, and the identities of mycorrhizal fungi associated with the roots of the orchids. However, this 'simple' study was thrown into disarray when Dr. Moura explored remote dwarfed laurisilva forests along the highest volcanic ridge on the central island of São Jorge and found an unusual population of butterfly orchids.
"I immediately recognised the flowers as being exceptionally large for an Azorean butterfly-orchid," said Moura" and e-mailed images to Richard Bateman for confirmation that they were new to science." Data gathered subsequently in the laboratory using several analytical techniques all pointed to the discovery of a new species, and suggested that the species -- named Platanthera azorica in the PeerJ paper -- originated relatively recently by a remarkable restoration of the large-flowered morphology of its presumed mainland ancestor.
Bateman then realised that this "new" orchid had in fact been illustrated (but never correctly identified as a new species) in the first ever Flora of the islands, published in 1844, but thereafter had consistently been confused with other more frequent Azorean species. The illustrated specimen, deposited in the herbarium at Tübingen by German botanist Karl Hochstetter, was collected during his tour of six of the nine Azorean islands in 1838. However, as Hochstetter did not visit São Jorge (where P. azorica was most recently 're-discovered') it is entirely possible that the population he originally described may remain to be discovered on another Azorean island.
In the meantime, the team are anxious to obtain conservation protection for the newly-recognized and exceptionally rare orchid. "This remarkable species languished unrecognized for 173 years," commented Bateman. "It's rediscovery and recognition beautifully illustrate the value of integrating field-based and laboratory-based approaches to generate a modern monograph. This methodology both demonstrates that the species is genuine and allows us to make informed recommendations for its future conservation."
source (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131210072117.htm)