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World's smallest orchid discovered with petals only one cell thick

The tiny plant, discovered growing inside the root of another small orchid, is just 2.1 mm wide from petal tip to petal tip.
By Bryan Nelson
Wed, Dec 02 2009 at 6:28 AM EST
Read more: BIODIVERSITY, ECOLOGY, WILDERNESS

GHOSTLY ORCHID: The petals of the new species are so thin they are transparent. (Photo: Lou Jost)
American botanist Lou Jost, one of the world's leading orchid hunters, is responsible for discovering 60 new species of orchid in the last decade alone. But it's his latest discovery that might be the most unique and unusual.
 
"I found it among the roots of another plant that I had collected, another small orchid which I took back to grow in my greenhouse to get it to flower," he said of his latest discovery. "A few months later I saw that down among the roots was a tiny little plant that I realized was more interesting than the bigger orchid."
 
As reported by The Independent, the minuscule new orchid is just 2.1 mm wide, and instantly supersedes the species Platystele jungermannioides as the world's smallest. In fact, the petals are so thin that they are just one cell thick and transparent.
 
It was found in the Cerro Candelaria reserve in the Ecuadorian Andes, a remote region made famous as home to most of the world's smallest orchids. In fact, over 1,000 new species of the storied flowers have been discovered in Ecuador in the past century, a treasure trove made possible by the continued construction of new roads which give orchid hunters access to what was previously some of the most remote and unspoiled forest habitats in the world.
 
Hopefully the new discoveries — ironically made possible by roads — will lead to increased awareness about the need to conserve remote habitats rather than develop them.
 
Orchids glean much of their otherworldy mystique from their highly specialized pollination systems, which often makes the chances of pollination scarce. This has allowed orchids to develop a diverse array of structural variations in their flowers, making them prestigious finds for flower hunters and curious botanists.
 
Another of Lou Jost's most prized discoveries was a group of 28 closely related types of orchid which evolved in a mountainous area the size of London, a patch of land so small that the find was described as a botanical version of Darwin's finches. In fact, Darwin's own study of the cross-pollination of orchids, as explored in his 1862 book Fertilisation of Orchids, played a large role in the development of his theory of natural selection.


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Posted By bleiu - Fri, Dec 04 2009 at 10:19 AM EST

Roads

In fact, over 1,000 new species of the storied flowers have been discovered in Ecuador in the past century, a treasure trove made possible by the CONTINUED!!!!!!! construction of new roads which give orchid hunters access to what was PREVIOUSLY SOME OF THE MOST REMOTE AND UNSPOILED FOREST HABITATS IN THE WORLD = It's very disturbing to hear how selfish and disgusting humans are continually. They just never stop destroying and being so proud of themselves about it..... More

Posted By localknowledge - Thu, Dec 03 2009 at 3:28 PM EST

wait a second

who or what or gives the right to an american botanist so called "orchid hunter" to take orchids back home to grow them?? isn´t this ilegal? is somebody cheking this fellow isn´t one more example o biotraffic, biopiracy and all the rest of abusive theft of genetic resources by developed countries "in name of science"?

Posted By Paul - Tue, Dec 22 2009 at 4:23 PM EST

Not such a bad guy

I personally know Lou. Many orchids look alike until they bloom. When Lou finds a possible new species, he takes a living sample or two to grow in a greenhouse for noncommercial reasons, until it blooms so that it can be identified. That bloom is photographed and documented in detail and preserved in alcohol for submission to Carl Luerr at the Missouri Botanical Gardens so that it can be confirmed as a new species. This is how new species are documented for science. He has permission from.... More

Posted By Jonas - Thu, Dec 03 2009 at 1:34 PM EST

So what?

So what?

Posted By Daniel Jacobus Scheepers - Wed, Dec 02 2009 at 1:07 PM EST

Got to love nature

Really kewl read Jerry, thanks!

I love them plants, would like to explore those forests myself, but will be looking for Cycads instead..

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