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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/orchids/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Orchids</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/orchids/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>After 160 years, an old drawing leads scientists to a long-lost Sri Lanka orchid</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2025 08:37:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/28082511/Vanda-thwaitesii-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305028</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Citizen Science, Conservation, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Hunting, Orchids, Plants, Rediscovered Species, Species, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In the mist-wrapped folds of Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, where clouds softly wrap the rugged peaks in a soft embrace, a group of scientists recently stumbled upon a ghost from the island’s colonial past, in the form of a forgotten orchid. Nestled among the branches of forest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In the mist-wrapped folds of Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, a UNESCO-recognized world heritage site, where clouds softly wrap the rugged peaks in a soft embrace, a group of scientists recently stumbled upon a ghost from the island’s colonial past, in the form of a forgotten orchid. Nestled among the branches of forest trees near a tributary of the Mahaweli River in Rangala, Kandy district, bloomed Vanda thwaitesii — a delicate orchid unseen in the wild for more than 160 years. The orchid had never been studied alive, even by eminent British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, who described it in 1898 based on only two drawings by Haramanis de Alwis, the official draftsman at Sri Lanka’s Royal Botanic Gardens at the time. With no herbarium specimens collected, the plant slipped into obscurity and was widely presumed extinct. “Many assumed it had vanished from the Earth, so we were delighted to find it alive after all this time,” says Bhathiya Gopallawa, a Ph.D. candidate at Sri Lanka’s University of Peradeniya, who co-authored the paper announcing the rediscovery. Vanda thwaitesii is named after George Thwaites, a botanist and administrator who held the post of superintendent of the Royal Botanical Gardens located in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, for 30 years and also studied the flower through a 1961 drawing. Image by Bhathiya Gopallawa. A scientific twist The return of V. thwaitesii is also a testament to citizen science, a trait of many recent floral rediscoveries and finding of rare plants. Gopallawa and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/after-160-years-an-old-drawing-leads-scientists-to-a-long-lost-sri-lanka-orchid/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305028</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reshu Bashyal becomes fourth Nepali in as many years to win Whitley Award</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2025 00:50:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/01004758/2025_Whitley_Fund_For_Nature-16-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Environmental Heroes, Medicinal Plants, Orchids, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepali conservationist Reshu Bashyal has been named one of the six recipients of this year’s prestigious Whitley Award in recognition of her work to tackle widespread poaching of orchids and yews. Bashyal is the fourth Nepali in as many years to win the award, dubbed the “Green Oscars,” for which she will receive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepali conservationist Reshu Bashyal has been named one of the six recipients of this year’s prestigious Whitley Award in recognition of her work to tackle widespread poaching of orchids and yews. Bashyal is the fourth Nepali in as many years to win the award, dubbed the “Green Oscars,” for which she will receive 50,000 pounds (nearly $67,000) from the U.K.’s Princess Anne, patron of the Whitley Fund for Nature. The award ceremony was held on April 30 in London. “Orchids and yews are very special because they stand out as evolutionarily distinct plants that have lured people not just because of their beauty but also with their medicinal values,” said Bashyal, research and program lead at the Kathmandu-based NGO Greenhood Nepal. The Whitley Fund for Nature said the award recognizes Bashyal’s pioneering work in understanding the extent of commercial harvesting of yews and orchids in Nepal by carrying out baseline research on harvesters’ motivation and techniques. Orchids, members of the plant family Orchidaceae, are known for their colorful and fragrant blooms, and Nepal is believed to be home to around 500 of the roughly 30,000 species known to science. Also referred to as the “tigers of the plant world,” orchids have long been subjected to unsustainable harvesting and international trade, both for ornamental purposes and for use in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. Another Nepal-native species, Maire&#8217;s yew (Taxus mairei), is also sought out for use in medicine; a compound derived from the plant’s shoots is used to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/botanist-reshu-bashyal-becomes-fourth-nepali-in-as-many-years-to-win-whitley-award/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Greater Mekong serves up 234 new species in a year, from fanged hedgehog to diva viper</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Dec 2024 06:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/16052538/1-Hylomys-macarong-%C2%A9-Alexei-V.-Abramov-02-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291689</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Cryptic Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Fish, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Mountains, New Discovery, Orchids, Pet Trade, Plants, Reptiles, Research, Rivers, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The dense tropical forests, isolated mountain peaks and limestone karst caverns of the Greater Mekong region yielded a remarkable 234 new-to-science species in 2023, according to a new report compiled by WWF. A striking orange-and-black crocodile newt recorded at the highest ever elevation for its type, a karst dragon lizard that represents an entirely new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The dense tropical forests, isolated mountain peaks and limestone karst caverns of the Greater Mekong region yielded a remarkable 234 new-to-science species in 2023, according to a new report compiled by WWF. A striking orange-and-black crocodile newt recorded at the highest ever elevation for its type, a karst dragon lizard that represents an entirely new genus, and a shrew mole that tips the scales at only 8 grams, or less than 0.3 ounces, qualifying it among the top 10 lightest land mammals on Earth, feature among the new assortment of species. Nature enthusiasts and researchers in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, along with experts at global museums, described 173 plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fish and three mammals previously unknown to science. The 2023 haul brings the total number of newly described species in the region since 1997 to 3,623. “Although these species were just described by science last year, they have been living in the unique habitats of our region for many millennia,” said Chris Hallam, head of wildlife and wildlife crime at WWF-Greater Mekong. “Each of these species is a critical piece of a functioning, healthy ecosystem and a jewel in the region&#8217;s rich natural heritage.” Other new curiosities include a species of wild ginger with roots that smell like mango; a red-and-green pit viper with scales sculpting the appearance of glamorous eyelashes around its eyes; and a soft-furred hedgehog that makes up for its lack of pointy spines with formidable incisors, described by researchers as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/greater-mekong-serves-up-234-new-species-in-a-year-from-fanged-hedgehog-to-diva-viper/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291689</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A key driver of decline, can wild orchid collectors change their ways?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/a-key-driver-of-decline-can-wild-orchid-collectors-change-their-ways/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/a-key-driver-of-decline-can-wild-orchid-collectors-change-their-ways/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2024 07:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/14071900/Banner_Paphiopedilum_hennisianum_plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290093</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Flowers, Forests, Green, Hunting, Orchids, Plants, Poaching, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Orchids, known for their flamboyant petals, deceptive mimicry and fascinating lifestyles, have captivated biologists and horticulturists for centuries. With nearly 30,000 described species, they form one of the plant kingdom’s most diverse families. However, habitat loss and unsustainable harvesting for private collections have driven many species to the brink of extinction. Nowhere is this more [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Orchids, known for their flamboyant petals, deceptive mimicry and fascinating lifestyles, have captivated biologists and horticulturists for centuries. With nearly 30,000 described species, they form one of the plant kingdom’s most diverse families. However, habitat loss and unsustainable harvesting for private collections have driven many species to the brink of extinction. Nowhere is this more acute than in Southeast Asia, a renowned epicenter of orchid diversity. When a new species of slipper orchid, Paphiopedilum canhii, was described in 2010 in Vietnam, for instance, it was collected to near extinction within six months. Moreover, a 2015 study found 347 species of orchid native to the region, many of them rare and threatened, are harvested from the wild to supply the ornamental plant trade. Conservationists in Southeast Asia are now working urgently to stem further losses by collaborating with an unlikely ally: the collectors themselves. “Orchid collectors and plant collectors, who in some respects are maybe the drivers of loss, hold lots of expertise and they know a lot about these plants. So engaging with them is probably a productive thing to do,” Jacob Phelps, from the Orchid Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, told Mongabay. Several recent studies in orchid-harvesting hotspots like Vietnam and Indonesia have identified receptive communities eager to share their knowledge and showcase their collections to conservation organizations. However, many enthusiasts lack key knowledge about sustainable horticultural practices to ensure their passion for orchids doesn’t unintentionally impact the long-term survival of species in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/a-key-driver-of-decline-can-wild-orchid-collectors-change-their-ways/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/a-key-driver-of-decline-can-wild-orchid-collectors-change-their-ways/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290093</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon deforestation threatens one of Brazil’s key pollinators, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/amazon-deforestation-threatens-one-of-brazils-key-pollinators-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/amazon-deforestation-threatens-one-of-brazils-key-pollinators-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jun 2024 16:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Molly Herring]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/05102142/1024px-Orchid_Bee_hovering-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282974</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Bees, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Orchids, Plantations, Pollinators, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Research, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With their metallic-blue-and-green bodies and iridescent wings, orchid bees aren’t just charismatic bugs. They’re specialist pollinators in tropical rainforests from Mexico to Brazil and are primarily responsible for the spread of the iconic Brazilian nut. But orchid bees might also provide a window into how deforestation and land-use change affect ecosystems and biodiversity, a recent [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With their metallic-blue-and-green bodies and iridescent wings, orchid bees aren’t just charismatic bugs. They’re specialist pollinators in tropical rainforests from Mexico to Brazil and are primarily responsible for the spread of the iconic Brazilian nut. But orchid bees might also provide a window into how deforestation and land-use change affect ecosystems and biodiversity, a recent study in Brazil’s state of Rondônia suggests. Although not the only pollinators affected by habitat loss, orchid bees, from the tribe Euglossini, are “among the most spectacular, peculiar, well-known, and economically important pollinators around, and they have the potential to attract the attention of the public and policymakers,” said study lead author J. Christopher Brown, professor of geography and atmospheric science at the University of Kansas, adding the bees might be the “perfect poster child” for conservation in the Amazon. The research, recently published in Biological Conservation, looks at how land-use change affects orchid bee abundance, richness and composition over time in various sites across the Amazonian state of Rondônia. Map of study area, collection zones sampled (1−12), and location of 130 sample locations in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Image courtesy of study authors. The region is marked by its neotropical forests, cattle ranches, and production of coffee, cacao, beans, maize and Brazil nuts. When an area is settled for human use, whether cattle grazing or agriculture, it’s first deforested. This opens up the canopy cover, leaving many of the species that rely on resource diversity unable to find what they need. In the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/amazon-deforestation-threatens-one-of-brazils-key-pollinators-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/amazon-deforestation-threatens-one-of-brazils-key-pollinators-study-shows/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282974</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>It’s tough to be a wild orchid: Interview with conservation biologist Reshu Bashyal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/its-tough-to-be-a-wild-orchid-interview-with-conservation-biologist-reshu-bashyal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/its-tough-to-be-a-wild-orchid-interview-with-conservation-biologist-reshu-bashyal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Apr 2024 14:36:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/28111547/Dendrobium-longicornu-PC-Kumar-Paudel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281438</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biology, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Culture, Flowers, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Orchids, Plants, Research, Trade, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Orchids (members of the family Orchidaceae) are diverse flowering plants with colorful and fragrant blooms and are often described as neglected plants in Nepal, where an estimated 500 or so of the roughly 30,000 species known to science are found. Most orchid plants require tree limbs for support and don’t need soil to grow — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Orchids (members of the family Orchidaceae) are diverse flowering plants with colorful and fragrant blooms and are often described as neglected plants in Nepal, where an estimated 500 or so of the roughly 30,000 species known to science are found. Most orchid plants require tree limbs for support and don’t need soil to grow — hence the garland-like appearance. Also referred to as the “tigers of the plant world,” orchids have been found to be at the receiving end of unsustainable harvesting and international trade for use in Ayurvedic as well as traditional Chinese medicine. One of the orchid species found in Nepal, Paphiopedilum venustum, has been listed as endangered by IUCN and listed under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), permitting trade only in exceptional circumstances. Almost all others are listed under Appendix 2, meaning their trade must be controlled in order to ensure utilization is compatible with their survival. Reshu Bashyal with the orchid Pleione praecox. Image courtesy of Reshu Bashyal Reshu Bashyal, a conservation biologist with a focus on wildlife trade research and policy implications associated with the NGO Greenhood Nepal, has been working on orchids for the last few years. Her work takes her to different parts of the country where she works with various communities and government agencies to understand the trade in the species and its implications for conservation. Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi recently met Bashyal at her office to talk about the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/its-tough-to-be-a-wild-orchid-interview-with-conservation-biologist-reshu-bashyal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281438</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Mind-blowing’ new orchid species found in Madagascar forest canopy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Mar 2024 18:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/22175955/Marie_Savignac2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280195</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Botany, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Islands, Mining, Orchids, Rainforests, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists from Madagascar, the U.S. and Europe have described a new orchid species found up in the forest canopies of central Madagascar. The orchid, named Solenangis impraedicta, boasts a nectar spur that reaches 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length, making it the longest of any known plant relative to its flower size. (The flowers are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists from Madagascar, the U.S. and Europe have described a new orchid species found up in the forest canopies of central Madagascar. The orchid, named Solenangis impraedicta, boasts a nectar spur that reaches 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length, making it the longest of any known plant relative to its flower size. (The flowers are just 2 cm, or three-quarters of an inch, long.) The nectar in this long spur is likely accessible only to long-tongued hawkmoths. As they sip the nectar, pollen from the flower is transferred onto their body, facilitating the pollination of the orchid species. The new species, described in a paper in Current Biology, represents the first orchid species with such extreme adaptations to hawkmoth pollination to be described since 1965. &#8220;Discovering a new orchid species is always an exciting event, but finding such amazing and charismatic species happens only once in a scientist&#8217;s career,&#8221; said Tariq Stévart, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden&#8217;s Africa and Madagascar program. Close-up of the flowers of S. impraedicta. Image courtesy of Marie Savignac. The find is exciting to researchers because of its similarities to the so-called Darwin&#8217;s orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale), also endemic to Madagascar. After examining the long nectar spur of A. sesquipedale in 1862, Darwin speculated that it would take a moth with an exceptionally long proboscis to reach the nectar. His fellow pioneer in the theory of evolution, Alfred Russel Wallace, in 1867 narrowed down the prediction to a hawkmoth, and this theory was validated in 1903&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/mind-blowing-new-orchid-species-found-in-madagascar-forest-canopy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280195</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh orchid losses signal ecological imbalance, researchers say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/bangladesh-orchid-losses-signal-ecological-imbalance-researchers-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/bangladesh-orchid-losses-signal-ecological-imbalance-researchers-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Jul 2023 15:05:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Farhana Parvin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/25145420/Thecostele_alata_flower-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271329</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Extinction, Flowers, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Orchids, Plants, Poaching, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Among the 188 identified orchids once found in Bangladesh, 32 are extinct from nature in the last few decades, according to a study published in the now-defunct International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences. The Revelator also published a story based on the findings. Theocostele alata, Anoectochilus roxburghii, Habenaria viridifolia and Spathoglottis pubescens are some of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Among the 188 identified orchids once found in Bangladesh, 32 are extinct from nature in the last few decades, according to a study published in the now-defunct International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences. The Revelator also published a story based on the findings. Theocostele alata, Anoectochilus roxburghii, Habenaria viridifolia and Spathoglottis pubescens are some of those that disappeared from nature. The findings, which came from 23 years of research led by Chittagong University’s botany professor Kamrul Huda, blamed habitat destruction and overharvesting as the causes behind their disappearance. However, the study could not determine the exact time frame in which the species disappeared but noted it likely happened within the last century based on available descriptions in different texts and photographs. Considering the unique position of orchids in the ecosystem and their herbal, horticultural and aesthetic value, researchers consider this loss alarming. “The existence of orchids in any forest means biodiversity is balanced. But unfortunately, Bangladesh still takes it as an ornamental object,” said professor Gazi Mosharof Hossain, department of botany, Jahangirnagar University. There are two types of orchids. Terrestrial orchids grow on land while epiphytic orchids grow on trees. This second type is not parasitic; they create food from the environment rather than from trees, which they use as shelter. In Bangladesh, cutting branches and destroying habitats of orchids is common. Meanwhile, Hossain said, authorities are still not taking orchids seriously as an important element of biodiversity. He added that authorities should declare a conservation area where orchids are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/bangladesh-orchid-losses-signal-ecological-imbalance-researchers-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/bangladesh-orchid-losses-signal-ecological-imbalance-researchers-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-271329</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Newly described leafless orchid in Sri Lanka named after a precious yellow sapphire</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/new-leafless-orchid-blooms-in-a-fragmented-sri-lankan-rainforest-named-after-a-precious-yellow-sapphire/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/new-leafless-orchid-blooms-in-a-fragmented-sri-lankan-rainforest-named-after-a-precious-yellow-sapphire/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Mar 2023 11:04:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/31103310/1.-Gastrodia-pushparaga--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267082</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Flowers, Forestry, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Orchids, Plants, Protected Areas, Research, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — The Sinharaja Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site is a large complex of lowland wilderness that is largely fragmented due to human activity. Walankanda and Viharakanda are two fragmented forest areas, and an ongoing project aims to connect these two forest areas through a land corridor. Amila Perera, the project’s coordinator from [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — The Sinharaja Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site is a large complex of lowland wilderness that is largely fragmented due to human activity. Walankanda and Viharakanda are two fragmented forest areas, and an ongoing project aims to connect these two forest areas through a land corridor. Amila Perera, the project’s coordinator from Dilmah Conservation, was undertaking a survey on plants for this project when he made a chance observance of an unusual flower in the Walankanda forest floor. The flower was yellow with a red tint; what was unusual about the plant was that it had no leaves. Perera recalled a somewhat similar wildflower belonging to the ginger family, but he thought this was a different bloom. To verify, in March 2021, he sent a photograph of the flower to Bhathiya Gopallawa, a PhD candidate at the University of Peradeniya (UOP) who worked at the National Herbarium. The new leafless orchid is named Gastrodia pushparaga due to its coloration and the locality. Image courtesy of Amila Perera. The characteristics of a flower are critical for plant identification, so there are instances in which botanists must wait years or even decades until a tree begins to flower in order to make an accurate scientific identification. But in this instance, the orchid did not have any leaves and the only identifier was the flower itself. Also, similar orchids in the area had shed flowers and already had seed pots, giving a clear sign that their flowering season was reaching&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/new-leafless-orchid-blooms-in-a-fragmented-sri-lankan-rainforest-named-after-a-precious-yellow-sapphire/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/new-leafless-orchid-blooms-in-a-fragmented-sri-lankan-rainforest-named-after-a-precious-yellow-sapphire/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-267082</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal orchid trade threatens Nepal’s ‘tigers of the plant world’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/illegal-orchid-trade-threatens-nepals-tigers-of-the-plant-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/illegal-orchid-trade-threatens-nepals-tigers-of-the-plant-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Dec 2022 11:22:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/28105723/Pleione-praecox-shaktigumba-PC-Kumar-Paudel-5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264138</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Illegal Wildlife Trade]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Flowers, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Orchids, Plants, Poaching, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU – Thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India visit a garden in Siraha in eastern Nepal on the first day of the Nepali New Year (around the second week of April) to catch a glimpse of a special flower. According to folklore, the pale purple flowers, which bloom hanging from trees in the garden [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU – Thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India visit a garden in Siraha in eastern Nepal on the first day of the Nepali New Year (around the second week of April) to catch a glimpse of a special flower. According to folklore, the pale purple flowers, which bloom hanging from trees in the garden known as the Salahesh Fulbari, represent a garland that local folk hero Salahesh received from his beloved. Botanists have identified the flower as an orchid species (Dendrobium aphyllum) found from Nepal to Southern China and peninsular Malaysia. Although the orchid species in Siraha grabs headlines in Nepal and parts of India every April, other members of this family (Orchidaceae) of this diverse flowering plants with colorful and fragrant blooms are often neglected, even as their trade remains illegal in the country. “Orchids are the most exciting, diverse, unique and charismatic of all plant groups on Earth,” says Jacob Phelps, co-chair of the Global Trade Program, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Orchid Specialist Group. “They are the tigers of the plant world, but unlike tigers, we know incredibly little about them,” he adds. Satyrium nepalense orchid. “They are the tigers of the plant world, but unlike tigers, we know incredibly little about them,” say experts. Image by Kumar Paudel. Dendrobium longicornu orchid flower from Nepal. Image by Kumar Paudel. Scientific estimates suggest that there are roughly 30,000 species of orchids around the world, approximately 500 of which have been reported in the forests and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/illegal-orchid-trade-threatens-nepals-tigers-of-the-plant-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/illegal-orchid-trade-threatens-nepals-tigers-of-the-plant-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264138</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2021 18:29:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/21182636/Screen-Shot-2021-12-21-at-12.26.13-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250851</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Ecuador, Global, Guiana Shield, India, Latin America, South America, Venezuela, West Africa, and Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Ants, Bats, Biodiversity, Birding, Botany, Carnivores, Cetaceans, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Orchids, Owls, Plants, Plastic, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Shipping, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With humans sending probes to Mars and the sun, one might think we’ve already explored the full extent of our own planet. But scientists say we’ve only begun to find and describe the riches here on Earth. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With humans sending probes to Mars and the sun, one might think we’ve already explored the full extent of our own planet. But scientists say we’ve only begun to find and describe the riches here on Earth. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth’s species,” Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay in a March 2021 interview.  Moura is the co-creator of a study that maps out places in the world likely to hold the highest number of species unknown to science. As it turns out, there are a lot. This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, an acrobatic North American skunk, a snake from the Himalayas (found on Instagram), a new whale species in the Gulf of Mexico, an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, and an Australian “killer tobacco.” Map showing the portion of undiscovered species worldwide. Image by Mario R. Moura. (Moura and Jetz 2021) “Every year, as scientists explore the world’s ecosystems, search herbaria and fungaria, sequence organisms’ DNA and, increasingly, browse social media, they come across species of plants and fungi that have not been scientifically described,” says the “State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2020” report, released by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. However, though a species may be new&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-250851</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mining and logging threaten a wildlife wonderland on a Philippine mountain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/mining-and-logging-threaten-a-wildlife-wonderland-on-a-philippine-mountain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/mining-and-logging-threaten-a-wildlife-wonderland-on-a-philippine-mountain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Apr 2021 11:42:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bong S. Sarmiento]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabele]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/04/27060013/ban2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=241993</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Extinction, Forests, Islands, Mining, Orchids, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — Rising 2,064 meters, or nearly 6,800 feet, above sea level, Mount Busa is the tallest peak in the Philippines’ Sarangani province and home to one of the last verdant primary forests on the southern island of Mindanao. Busa is known as Bulul Tembob to the T’boli tribe, who consider it hallowed ground, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — Rising 2,064 meters, or nearly 6,800 feet, above sea level, Mount Busa is the tallest peak in the Philippines’ Sarangani province and home to one of the last verdant primary forests on the southern island of Mindanao. Busa is known as Bulul Tembob to the T’boli tribe, who consider it hallowed ground, a place where they worship their deities, connect with the spirits of their ancestors and commune with nature. The mountain, located in the town of Kiamba, some 1,700 kilometers (nearly 1,100 miles) southeast of the capital Manila, was designated a key biodiversity area (KBA) and bird conservation area in 2001, and is considered a high-priority site for conservation in the Philippines. Overlooking Moro Gulf, Busa enjoys a marginal level of protection: The northern slopes are part of the larger Allah Valley Protected Landscape (AVPL), but the 114,000-hectare (282,000-acre) mountain, known globally for its rich biodiversity and bird sightings, has yet to be declared a protected area. View from Mount Busa peak overlooking the Celebes Sea. Image by Kier Michael E. Pitogo. A growing number of species sighted and surveys conducted in recent years have led to a deluge of new species being described from the mountain, prompting the local government to declare its massif, the principal mountain mass, a local conservation area in March 2020. Under this designation, the mountain — or at least the upper slopes — are one step closer to being under a legal protective framework. However, the designation still falls short&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/mining-and-logging-threaten-a-wildlife-wonderland-on-a-philippine-mountain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/mining-and-logging-threaten-a-wildlife-wonderland-on-a-philippine-mountain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-241993</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New orchid species from Guiana Highlands  named by Indigenous group</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/new-orchid-species-from-guiana-highlands-named-by-indigenous-group/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/new-orchid-species-from-guiana-highlands-named-by-indigenous-group/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jan 2021 15:39:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/01/15144112/Screen-Shot-2021-01-15-at-8.40.58-AM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=238746</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Guyana, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Culture, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mining, New Discovery, Orchids, Research, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On an expedition in the tepuis, or “sprouting rock,” landscape of the Guiana Highlands in South America, Mateusz Wrazidlo snapped a photo of an orchid he had never seen before. Back in the herbarium, a place where dried plant samples are kept for research, he and his colleague, the orchid expert Eric Hágsater, determined it [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On an expedition in the tepuis, or “sprouting rock,” landscape of the Guiana Highlands in South America, Mateusz Wrazidlo snapped a photo of an orchid he had never seen before. Back in the herbarium, a place where dried plant samples are kept for research, he and his colleague, the orchid expert Eric Hágsater, determined it was a species new to science “Our new species is another beautiful looking member of the Epidendrum family, but in my humble opinion it&#8217;s not the looks that make it special — it is the name it was given,” Wrazidlo, a Ph.D. student at the Silesian University of Technology in Poland, told Mongabay in an email. Inflorescence of the newly discovered orchid, Epidendrum katarun-yariku. Each flower is around 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) across. Image courtesy of Mateusz Wrazidlo. A full Epidendrum katarun-yariku plant is nearly one meter (three feet) tall. Image courtesy of Mateusz Wrazidlo. The cliffs of Acopán-tepuí in Venezuela where the new orchid species, Epidendrum katarun-yariku, grows. Photo courtesy of Mateusz Wrazidlo. All species names consist of two parts. The first part is the genus, or the larger group the organism is related to. The second part, the specific name, is typically chosen by the person who found the new species. Often, this second name is based on a Latin word that describes the species, or is a name selected to honor a personal hero. But Wrazidlo decided to take a different approach. “I thought it would be a nice gesture to ask&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/new-orchid-species-from-guiana-highlands-named-by-indigenous-group/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-238746</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top 15 species discoveries from 2020 (Photos)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-top-15-species-discoveries-from-2020/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-top-15-species-discoveries-from-2020/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Dec 2020 12:13:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/12/27225207/SD_Langur.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=238311</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Frogs, Fungi, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Lemurs, Orchids, Salamanders, Snakes, Species Discovery, Spiders, Wildlife, and Year-end review]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In this well-trodden world, the discovery of a species new to science is an exciting event, a glimmer of the uncharted riches of biodiversity still hidden around the globe. “Every year, as scientists explore the world’s ecosystems, search herbaria and fungaria, sequence organisms’ DNA and, increasingly, browse social media, they come across species of plants [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In this well-trodden world, the discovery of a species new to science is an exciting event, a glimmer of the uncharted riches of biodiversity still hidden around the globe. “Every year, as scientists explore the world’s ecosystems, search herbaria and fungaria, sequence organisms’ DNA and, increasingly, browse social media, they come across species of plants and fungi that have not been scientifically described,” says the “State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2020” report, released in September by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew). Many new species were described this year, including several snakes, frogs, insects, and even new primate species. Turning to the ocean, scientists spotted a beaked whale that may be a new species and a mysterious coiled siphonophore believed to be the longest animal ever recorded. This coiled siphonophore, found by the Schmidt Ocean Institute off the coast of Australia, is believed to be the largest animal ever recorded, measuring 46 meters (150 feet) in length. Photo via Schmidt Ocean Institute. Plants and fungi also continue to represent an underexplored frontier of diversity. This year, the RBG Kew named 156 plants and fungi from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the U.K. The Missouri Botanical Gardens recently named 10 charismatic plant discoveries from 2020, including a new species of ebony tree, a carnivorous sundew, and a new mint.  However, although a species may be new to science, that doesn’t mean it has never been seen or named. “Many species that are new to science are already known&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-top-15-species-discoveries-from-2020/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-top-15-species-discoveries-from-2020/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-238311</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>[Photos] Tiny frog, venomous viper among 20 new species described in Bolivia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-tiny-frog-venomous-viper-among-20-new-species-described-in-bolivia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-tiny-frog-venomous-viper-among-20-new-species-described-in-bolivia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Dec 2020 10:43:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/12/14095110/ci_68870035-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=237836</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Bamboo, Biodiversity, Botany, Butterflies, Cloud Forests, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Orchids, Plants, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Snakes, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An expedition into the cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes has uncovered 20 species new to science, including a frog that may be the smallest in the Andes, a new venomous pit viper, four butterflies, and four orchid species. Along with the newly described species, the research team also “rediscovered” four species believed to be [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An expedition into the cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes has uncovered 20 species new to science, including a frog that may be the smallest in the Andes, a new venomous pit viper, four butterflies, and four orchid species. Along with the newly described species, the research team also “rediscovered” four species believed to be extinct, including the devil-eyed frog (Oreobates zongoensis), not observed on record for 20 years, and a satyr butterfly (Euptychoides fida), not recorded for 98 years. The devil-eyed frog (Oreobates zongoensis) was rediscovered on the Zongo RAP expedition in Bolivia. This species was previously known only from a single individual seen more than 20 years ago in the Zongo Valley. Image © Trond Larsen. “These discoveries are the result of 14 days of intense field work spread across the rugged terrain, misty cloud forests and cascading waterfalls of the Zongo — a truly beautiful and diverse landscape,” Trond Larsen, director of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (RAP), said in a statement. Larsen, along with Claudia Cortez, head of conservation and wildlife management for the municipal government of La Paz, led a group of 17 scientists into Chawi Grande, a locality belonging to the Huaylipaya community in the Zongo Valley, or “heart” valley, region, near the Bolivian capital, La Paz. The expedition was part of Conservation International’s RAP, which began in 1990 to collect information on biodiversity and ecosystem health rapidly to guide conservation policy- and decision-making. The Andean mountains of the Zongo Valley in Bolivia where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-tiny-frog-venomous-viper-among-20-new-species-described-in-bolivia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/photos-tiny-frog-venomous-viper-among-20-new-species-described-in-bolivia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-237836</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On a Philippine mountain, researchers describe a ‘fire flower’ orchid species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-mountain-researchers-describe-a-fire-flower-orchid-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-mountain-researchers-describe-a-fire-flower-orchid-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Oct 2020 07:58:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Keith Anthony Fabro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Leilani]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/03001720/IMG_8622-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=235524</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Cloud Forests, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Fires, Flowers, Food, Food Vs Forests Debate, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, New Discovery, Orchids, Plants, Research, Species Discovery, Tourism, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new tiny orchid species with fiery orange flowers has been discovered on a mountain peak in the northern Philippines’ Cordilleras range. The wild orchid species was named Dendrochilum ignisiflorum and described in a study in the journal Phytotaxa. It belongs to the Dendrochilum genus which prefers the mossy or cloud forests blanketing the high [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new tiny orchid species with fiery orange flowers has been discovered on a mountain peak in the northern Philippines’ Cordilleras range. The wild orchid species was named Dendrochilum ignisiflorum and described in a study in the journal Phytotaxa. It belongs to the Dendrochilum genus which prefers the mossy or cloud forests blanketing the high mountains of Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines, Borneo and Sumatra. This new Philippine-endemic orchid has been proposed as vulnerable under the criteria of the IUCN Red List. Botanists recorded the species thriving at an elevation of around 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) on exposed ridges and the mossy forest summit of Mount Komkompol in Benguet province. Because it’s a high-elevation orchid, experts say it’s vulnerable to habitat loss due to climate change and deforestation. Despite each flower measuring no more than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches), this species stands out for its fiery color (the species name in Latin means “fire flower”). “[It’s] not a showy type of orchid like what our mom or aunt collects,” says study lead author Maverick Tamayo of the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB). “It’s really small but the color of its flower can be easily discerned with the lush green background of the mossy forest.” The new Dendrochilum ignisiflorum stands out for its fiery orange flowers. Image courtesy of Maverick Tamayo/UP Baguio Tamayo discovered the flowers by accident. He was two days into a strenuous climb when he spotted  the bright yellow-orange flowers attached to a nearby tree. Right&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-mountain-researchers-describe-a-fire-flower-orchid-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-mountain-researchers-describe-a-fire-flower-orchid-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-235524</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From a Sri Lankan rainforest, a new species of orchid blooms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/from-a-sri-lankan-rainforest-a-new-species-of-orchid-blooms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/from-a-sri-lankan-rainforest-a-new-species-of-orchid-blooms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 May 2020 11:27:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/01111635/IMG_20180406_103523-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=229744</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Orchids, Plants, Rainforests, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — A rare new orchid described from a tropical lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka now bears the name of two of the island’s pioneering forest ecologists. A new paper published in the journal Biotaxa identifies the new discovery as Gastrodia gunatillekeorum, a species found in just three small populations comprising fewer than 100 mature [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — A rare new orchid described from a tropical lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka now bears the name of two of the island’s pioneering forest ecologists. A new paper published in the journal Biotaxa identifies the new discovery as Gastrodia gunatillekeorum, a species found in just three small populations comprising fewer than 100 mature individuals. That makes it both habitat specific and endangered. In naming the petite orchid, researchers dedicated it to two of the island’s top ecologists, Nimal Gunatilleke and Savitri Gunatilleke from the University of Peradeniya. “This is our humble tribute to this unique couple for their immense contribution in the field of ecology and for encouraging, mentoring and nurturing future ecologists of Sri Lanka,” said study&#8217;s lead author  Champika Bandara from the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Uva Wellassa University, Badulla. Gastrodia are mycotrophic plants — those that rely on fungus for their nutrition — and as such occur in highly specific locations, given that fungi are also highly specific to the habitat where they grow, Bandara said this new species was discovered in the Sinharaja lowland rainforest, an area dominated by Mesua and Shorea trees. The small orchid bears a close resemblance to G. spatulata, a flower endemic to Indonesia, because they both have white, wide-open and backward-reflexed flower fronts. In G. gunatillekeorum, however, the petals are as long as the outer part of the flower, known as the perianth, while in G. spatulata there are free linear petals inside the perianth tube. Rising out&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/from-a-sri-lankan-rainforest-a-new-species-of-orchid-blooms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/from-a-sri-lankan-rainforest-a-new-species-of-orchid-blooms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-229744</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wild orchid trade in China is huge, overlooked and ‘devastating,’ study finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/wild-orchid-trade-in-china-is-huge-overlooked-and-devastating-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/wild-orchid-trade-in-china-is-huge-overlooked-and-devastating-study-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2019 11:16:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/21085054/Dendrobium_aphyllum_-_panoramio-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=221501</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, and Hong Kong]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Illegal Trade, Orchids, Plants, Research, Trade, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you’re looking to buy orchids from plant markets in southern China, chances are you’ll find plenty of orchids that have been collected from the wild, sometimes illegally. And these vibrant wild orchids are usually priced much cheaper than those grown in nurseries, according to a new study. Researchers have found trade in more than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you’re looking to buy orchids from plant markets in southern China, chances are you’ll find plenty of orchids that have been collected from the wild, sometimes illegally. And these vibrant wild orchids are usually priced much cheaper than those grown in nurseries, according to a new study. Researchers have found trade in more than 400 species of orchids collected from the wild, involving more than 1.2 million individuals, potentially worth more than $14.6 million — all in just one year of survey. “The results of this study are devastating,” Jacob Phelps, a lecturer at Lancaster University and co-chair of the IUCN SSC Orchid Specialist Group &#8211; Global Trade Programme, who was not involved in the study, told Mongabay. “We already knew that there was illegal trade of wild orchids in China, but this is our first real insight into the huge scale and richness of that trade.” Orchids, popular as ornamental plants and used in traditional medicine and food, are traded widely across the world. They also represent the single largest group of flora or fauna for which international trade is regulated: all 29,000-odd species of known orchids have been listed on Appendix I or Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). According to official data reported to the CITES, nearly all global commercial orchid trade involves artificially propagated plants. However, a number of studies have revealed that the trade in wild-sourced orchids, mostly undeclared and undocumented, may in fact be much greater than&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/wild-orchid-trade-in-china-is-huge-overlooked-and-devastating-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-221501</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mysterious plants that thrive in darkness, steal food: Q&#038;A with botanist Kenji Suetsugu</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/mysterious-plants-that-thrive-in-darkness-steal-food-qa-with-botanist-kenji-suetsugu/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/mysterious-plants-that-thrive-in-darkness-steal-food-qa-with-botanist-kenji-suetsugu/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2019 10:51:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/19064636/Thismia-abei-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=221463</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Forests, Green, Interviews, Orchids, Parasites, Plants, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When Kenji Suetsugu is out looking for plants in Japan’s forests, he&#8217;s not looking for the usual green ones. Instead, on dark forest floors, where little light penetrates, Suetsugu painstakingly searches for tiny flowering plants that have more or less given up on photosynthesis and lack chlorophyll, the characteristic green pigment that helps plants make [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When Kenji Suetsugu is out looking for plants in Japan’s forests, he&#8217;s not looking for the usual green ones. Instead, on dark forest floors, where little light penetrates, Suetsugu painstakingly searches for tiny flowering plants that have more or less given up on photosynthesis and lack chlorophyll, the characteristic green pigment that helps plants make their own food from sunlight. He’s drawn in particular to plants that are mycoheterotrophic: parasitic plants that take their quota of nutrition from networks of fungi under the forest floor, without giving anything back to the fungi. The problem, however, is that these plants are incredibly hard to find. They tend to stay hidden underground and show up above ground only to flower or fruit, barely peeking through the leaf litter. This means that pinpointing them requires top-notch plant identification skills, special forest-floor sleuthing abilities, the support of past experiences, and some chance encounters. For the past 10 years, Suetsugu, a botanist and associate professor at Japan’s Kobe University, has been on a mission to identify and document mycoheterotrophic plants across Japan’s forests. In his surveys he’s uncovered 10 previously undescribed species of these elusive plants. A few of these species are especially unique, Suetsugu says, such as the orchids that never bloom. Gastrodia amamiana is one such orchid species that Mongabay wrote about recently. The plant, known from the islands of Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima, not only relies completely on fungi for nutrition, it produces flowers that never seem to open up. Flowers typically need to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/mysterious-plants-that-thrive-in-darkness-steal-food-qa-with-botanist-kenji-suetsugu/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-221463</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New orchid species from Japan lives on dark forest floor, never blooms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/new-orchid-species-from-japan-lives-on-dark-forest-floor-never-blooms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/new-orchid-species-from-japan-lives-on-dark-forest-floor-never-blooms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Aug 2019 21:20:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/05112506/207798_web.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=221035</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Orchids, Plants, Research, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From Japan’s Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands, researchers have described a new-to-science species of orchid that produces dark brown flowers that likely never bloom. Kenji Suetsugu of the Kobe University Graduate School of Science, together with independent scientists Hidekazu Morita, Yohei Tashiro, Chiyoko Hara and Kazuki Yamamuro, came across the flower during a flora survey of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From Japan’s Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands, researchers have described a new-to-science species of orchid that produces dark brown flowers that likely never bloom. Kenji Suetsugu of the Kobe University Graduate School of Science, together with independent scientists Hidekazu Morita, Yohei Tashiro, Chiyoko Hara and Kazuki Yamamuro, came across the flower during a flora survey of the islands’ evergreen forests. When they looked at the orchid closely, they found that it belonged to the genus Gastrodia, a group of mycoheterotrophic orchids that don’t use photosynthesis to get their nutrients, instead stealing nutrition from fungi. Suetsugu, who has been documenting Japan&#8217;s mycoheterotrophs and has described new species of such orchids in the past, has named the orchid from Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands Gastrodia amamiana. He described the plant in a new study published in Phytotaxa. Like many mycoheterotrophs, G. amamiana can be found lurking in the dark understory of forests where sunlight hardly penetrates. Without light, the orchid has evolved to find food without photosynthesis by relying on the network of fungi underneath the forest floor. It has another peculiar trait: it bears fruit despite flowers that likely never open. Suetsugu posits that the plant probably self-pollinates because it lives on dark forest floors where insect pollinators like bees and butterflies seldom visit. The act of opening up a flower uses critical resources, and without insect pollinators to open it for, the orchid may have evolved to never bloom, Suetsugu writes. To date, G. amamiana is known from only two locations, one each&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/new-orchid-species-from-japan-lives-on-dark-forest-floor-never-blooms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-221035</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Venezuelan crisis: Caring for priceless botanical treasures in a failed state</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/venezuelan-crisis-caring-for-priceless-botanical-treasures-in-a-failed-state/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/venezuelan-crisis-caring-for-priceless-botanical-treasures-in-a-failed-state/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2019 15:19:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeanfreddy Gutiérrez Torres]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/07/31145936/Banner-image-768x454.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=220931</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Botany, Conservation, data, Drought, Earth Science, Economics, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Orchids, Plants, Rainforests, Research, Science, Trees, Tropical Conservation Science, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After two years of severe drought, lacking electricity and water, with a $500 annual budget, the Botanical Garden of Caracas struggles valiantly to protect its precious collection. ]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Botanical Garden of Caracas, past and present: Seen in the glowing-green banner image at the top of this webpage as it once appeared, and above dry and desiccated as it looks today, is a portion of the Palmetum collection, formerly renowned for its 4,000 specimens and 250 species of palm and orchid, mostly from Latin America. Image by Jeanfreddy Gutiérrez Torres. Banner image by Alejandro Matheus CC BY-SA 3.0. Without water, life itself is impossible: the staff of the Botanical Garden of Caracas has labored against this natural edict for more than two years, as the UNESCO World Heritage Site struggles to keep its precious international plant collection alive against severe drought, a failed city electrical and water supply, and amidst one of the worst humanitarian emergencies ever endured by a Latin American nation. The Garden, in Spanish known as the Jardín Botánico de Caracas, is part of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Central University of Venezuela, campus, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. At its height, the Garden conserved more than 2,500 species corresponding to roughly 200 botanical families, of which 50 percent were endemic to Venezuela, with the rest coming from Central America, Africa, India and other parts of Asia and South America. Its Palmetum was renowned for having one of the finest collections of palms in Latin America, housing some 4,000 specimens of about 250 species. But year-by-year, day-by-day, this natural treasure house has become increasingly impoverished, with many exotic plants, dozens of native&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/venezuelan-crisis-caring-for-priceless-botanical-treasures-in-a-failed-state/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/venezuelan-crisis-caring-for-priceless-botanical-treasures-in-a-failed-state/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-220931</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘You don’t find orchids; they find you’: Q&#038;A with botanist Edicson Parra</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/you-dont-find-orchids-they-find-you-qa-with-botanist-edicson-parra/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/you-dont-find-orchids-they-find-you-qa-with-botanist-edicson-parra/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jun 2019 06:17:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gianluca Cerullo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Maria Angeles Salazar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/06054115/orchids5-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=219224</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cloud Forests, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Interviews, Orchids, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When a mining company came to exploit an old-growth cloud forest near Edicson Parra’s hometown of Fusagasuga in Colombia, he decided to take action. He rallied as many relatives and friends as he could and joined a street protest against the looming project. Photos of Parra and his family waving placards and sporting identical Colombian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When a mining company came to exploit an old-growth cloud forest near Edicson Parra’s hometown of Fusagasuga in Colombia, he decided to take action. He rallied as many relatives and friends as he could and joined a street protest against the looming project. Photos of Parra and his family waving placards and sporting identical Colombian soccer jerseys ran in local newspapers. But Parra had one superpower nobody else at the protest possessed: he had spent 10 years learning how to identify orchids. On entering the tract of forest slated for demolition, Parra, who recently received his Ph.D. in conservation science from Imperial College London, did what any biologist worth their salt would do: he carried out a biological survey. Rooting through mossy treetops and rotten logs, Parra found 24 species of orchids living in the cloud forest. Three were endemic to Colombia. One of these, Epidendrum fusagasugüense, Parra had discovered and named after his hometown only the year before. He provided the information from his botanical survey to a legal team fighting the mining. A court eventually banned development in the ecosystem. A central factor in the ruling was the recognition of the forest as an orchid hotspot, along with the fact that this forest provides freshwater to over 1,000 households. But this wasn’t the first time Parra had used his orchid knowhow in defense of Colombia’s cloud forests. Already once before, his botanical surveys helped divert a road set to cut through a unique forest reserve in the Central&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/you-dont-find-orchids-they-find-you-qa-with-botanist-edicson-parra/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-219224</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Social media, e-commerce sites facilitate illegal orchid trade</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/social-media-e-commerce-sites-facilitate-illegal-orchid-trade/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/social-media-e-commerce-sites-facilitate-illegal-orchid-trade/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2018 11:52:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stephanie Parker]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Genevieve Belmaker]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/12/21113545/IMG_9162_lead_edit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=213889</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Ecuador, and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Illegal Trade, Medicinal Plants, Orchids, Plants, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Surveillance, Technology, Trade, Tropical Forests, Wildlife Trafficking, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[GLO-4060 QZA-16/0047.3]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Reports of illegal trafficking in elephant ivory or rhino horn abound, but plants are actually more frequent victims of the illicit trade than wildlife. In fact, roughly 30,000 of the 35,000 species covered by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) are plants. Orchids are especially vulnerable to illegal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Reports of illegal trafficking in elephant ivory or rhino horn abound, but plants are actually more frequent victims of the illicit trade than wildlife. In fact, roughly 30,000 of the 35,000 species covered by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) are plants. Orchids are especially vulnerable to illegal trafficking due to their beauty and popularity. The nearly 30,000 species of orchids make up roughly 10 percent of the Earth’s plant species, yet represent more than 70 percent of the species listed on CITES. “It’s really an orchid convention,” Amy Hinsley, a postdoctoral research associate and fellow in the Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, told Mongabay. She recently published a report that outlines the impact of the internet on the orchid trade. On one hand, it’s become easier to track the illegal trade now that it’s online, according to Hinsley. In the past, a researcher needed to go to orchid shows to find out what was being traded. Online, Hinsley can visit websites, look at postings, and sometimes observe the interactions between sellers and buyers in comments or on message boards. But on the flipside, the internet also allows illegal traders to access global markets much more easily. Technologies that speed information transfer in mainstream commerce also allow traffickers to use the internet to deliver products more effectively, receive payments, encrypt communications, or thwart law enforcement agencies through digital attacks. In the case of wild plants, traffickers can identify and map the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/social-media-e-commerce-sites-facilitate-illegal-orchid-trade/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/social-media-e-commerce-sites-facilitate-illegal-orchid-trade/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-213889</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New orchid species discovered in Peruvian Amazon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/new-orchid-species-discovered-in-peruvian-amazon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/new-orchid-species-discovered-in-peruvian-amazon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Aug 2018 14:32:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/08/23141357/therecentlyd_1200px-cropped-768x415.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=209618</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environment, Evolution, Flowers, Orchids, Rainforests, Research, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have discovered a new species of orchid in the Amazonian rainforests of Peru. SERNANP, Peru’s national parks service, announced that the new species was discovered on Bella Durmiente mountain, a prominent natural feature of Tingo Maria National Park in the Huánuco region of central Peru. About 240 orchid species are known to occur in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists have discovered a new species of orchid in the Amazonian rainforests of Peru. SERNANP, Peru’s national parks service, announced that the new species was discovered on Bella Durmiente mountain, a prominent natural feature of Tingo Maria National Park in the Huánuco region of central Peru. About 240 orchid species are known to occur in Tingo Maria National Park. The new species, which was described to science in a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa last month, was given the scientific name Andinia tingomariana in honor of the park where it was discovered. &#8220;This kind of discovery highlights the natural heritage of the country and demonstrates the good standard of conservation of the park,&#8221; Lorenzo Flores, director of the Tingo Maria National Park, said in a statement. The orchid was given the name &#8220;Andinia tingomariana&#8221; by the US Department of Biologicial and Ecological Organisms in honor of the protected natural area where it was discovered. Photo via Hernández et al. (2018). doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.361.2.7. There are 72 other species in the genus Andinia. According to the researchers who described the new orchid, “Species of this genus are confined to the Andes and distributed from northern Colombia to northern Bolivia.” A. tingomariana was found growing epiphytically — meaning it was growing on another plant, but not parasitically — among the mosses and vines on tree trunks in a humid forest at an elevation of 1,285 meters (about 4,216 feet). The researchers, a team of Peruvian and American botanists, write that the new species&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/new-orchid-species-discovered-in-peruvian-amazon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/new-orchid-species-discovered-in-peruvian-amazon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-209618</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Saving rare orchids that are &#8216;confusingly difficult&#8217; to grow in labs: Q&#038;A with orchid expert Marc Freestone</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/saving-rare-orchids-that-are-confusingly-difficult-to-grow-in-labs-qa-with-orchid-expert-marc-freestone/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/saving-rare-orchids-that-are-confusingly-difficult-to-grow-in-labs-qa-with-orchid-expert-marc-freestone/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2018 10:50:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/08/22064342/Coastal-Leek-orchid_known-from-a-few-hundred-plants-near-Portland-VIC-_-credit-Marc-Freestone-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=209563</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Grasslands, Green, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Interviews, Interviews With Young Scientists, Orchids, Plants, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Few plants capture the imagination quite like orchids. When orchid fever gripped England in the early 1800s, wealthy aristocrats sent out orchid hunters to forests around the world in search of these exotic flowering plants. Many died in the process. Even today, collectors seek out the rarest and the prettiest of orchids from the wild, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Few plants capture the imagination quite like orchids. When orchid fever gripped England in the early 1800s, wealthy aristocrats sent out orchid hunters to forests around the world in search of these exotic flowering plants. Many died in the process. Even today, collectors seek out the rarest and the prettiest of orchids from the wild, and orchids are among the most widely traded plant groups in the world. But many species of orchids are now under severe threat of extinction. Several are threatened by illegal collections from the wild because many orchid species occur in just a few locations, and removing them leads to the extinction of the species. Other orchids, especially the ones that grow in grasslands, are losing out to agriculture, grazing and development. Leek orchids are a case in point. They’re a group of small, native wildflowers found in bushlands across southern Australia. Of the 140-odd leek orchids known today, one-third are at risk of extinction, primarily from habitat loss. Several species, such as the lilac leek orchid (Prasophyllum colemaniae), whose only known population was destroyed by the development of a railway line, are already extinct. Others, such as the Shelford leek orchid (P. fosteri), are down to a handful of plants. Leek orchids occur in bushlands across southern Australia, and are threatened by habitat loss. Image by Marc Freestone. Time is running out for the endangered leek orchids. In fact, for some of the more threatened species with just a few populations, captive breeding and reintroduction to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/saving-rare-orchids-that-are-confusingly-difficult-to-grow-in-labs-qa-with-orchid-expert-marc-freestone/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/08/saving-rare-orchids-that-are-confusingly-difficult-to-grow-in-labs-qa-with-orchid-expert-marc-freestone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-209563</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Saving Sumatran orchids from deforestation, one plant at a time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/saving-orchids-in-sumatra-from-deforestation-one-plant-at-a-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/saving-orchids-in-sumatra-from-deforestation-one-plant-at-a-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Dec 2017 16:32:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/12/12161939/Image_1Pungky_Nanda_Pratama-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=202049</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Deforestation, Environment, Flowers, Forests, National Parks, Orchids, Palm Oil, Plantations, Plants, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rubber, Slash-and-burn, Tigers, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When tropical forests are felled and converted into land for oil palm or rubber plantations, it’s easy to think of the orangutans or the tigers that may lose their lives or their habitat. But when trees begin to fall, hundreds of plant species can perish alongside them. Some conservationists on the Indonesian island of Sumatra [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When tropical forests are felled and converted into land for oil palm or rubber plantations, it’s easy to think of the orangutans or the tigers that may lose their lives or their habitat. But when trees begin to fall, hundreds of plant species can perish alongside them. Some conservationists on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are fighting to save endangered plants from peril. One of them is Pungky Nanda Pratama. He started off working to save the animals of Sumatra in and around Kerinci Seblat National Park, the island’s largest protected area. But over time he began to notice the harmful effects local practices were having on the flora, as well as the fauna. Kerinci Seblat National Park is known as the last refuge of the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). It’s a huge 14,000-square kilometer (5,400-square mile) park that stretches for 350 kilometers from the middle of the island into its south. But Kerinci Seblat faces a difficult situation. Palm oil, acacia, rubber and other plantation crops pressure it from the outside, while poaching endangers the fauna within. While the area still maintains good tracts of connected forest outside of the protected area, large swathes of previously forested areas have been converted to agriculture. Meanwhile, portions of the park’s buffer zone are being turned over for agriculture, according to Pratama. “There is no significant encroachment into the national park buffer zone (or park) by plantations with one big exception,” Fauna &amp; Flora International’s team in Kerinci told Mongabay by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/saving-orchids-in-sumatra-from-deforestation-one-plant-at-a-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-202049</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The lure of wild orchids persists in Colombia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/the-lure-of-wild-orchids-persists-in-colombia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/the-lure-of-wild-orchids-persists-in-colombia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Nov 2017 18:44:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maximo Anderson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Genevieve Belmaker]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/11/02162732/orchid-1808208_1280-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=200782</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Colombia, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Flowers, Forests, Orchids, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BOGOTA, Colombia &#8211; In March 2000, two Englishmen in their early twenties, Tom Hart Dyke and his friend Paul Winder, decided to trek through the Darién Gap in the war-torn jungles of Colombia&#8217;s northwestern frontier wilderness bordering Panama. This was at the zenith of Colombia&#8217;s bloody US-backed counter-insurgency campaign against Marxist FARC rebels, making the Darién one [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BOGOTA, Colombia &#8211; In March 2000, two Englishmen in their early twenties, Tom Hart Dyke and his friend Paul Winder, decided to trek through the Darién Gap in the war-torn jungles of Colombia&#8217;s northwestern frontier wilderness bordering Panama. This was at the zenith of Colombia&#8217;s bloody US-backed counter-insurgency campaign against Marxist FARC rebels, making the Darién one of the most dangerous places in the world at that time. Undeterred, or ignorant of the danger, the two hired a local guide to lead them on their mission: to find rare and undiscovered wild orchids. Within days, they were kidnapped by FARC rebels and accused of being spies or international drug runners. The rebels held the men for nine months until deciding one day that obtaining a ransom for them was futile, so they let them go. They were also sick of them, by Paul&#8217;s own account, after months of hearing him talk incessantly about orchids. They were freed, unscathed, with all of their original belongings. But without a guide the orchid hunters quickly got lost in the maze-like swamps of the Darién, and turned back to the rebel camp where they had been held captive. Incensed at seeing the hated Englishmen return, the rebels gave them a map and told them to leave and never come back or they would be killed: finally, the pair found their way back to safety. What motivated the young pair of Englishmen to venture off to dangerous foreign lands in search of flowers is perplexing to most people – but&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/the-lure-of-wild-orchids-persists-in-colombia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-200782</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New parasitic plant doesn’t use photosynthesis; its flowers never bloom</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/new-parasitic-plant-doesnt-use-photosynthesis-its-flowers-never-bloom/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/new-parasitic-plant-doesnt-use-photosynthesis-its-flowers-never-bloom/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Oct 2016 10:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/10/01175726/Screen-Shot-2016-10-17-at-4.03.56-pm-e1482226254100.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=190235</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Orchids, Plants, Rainforests, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On the Japanese island of Kuroshima, a scientist has discovered a new species of plant that does not use photosynthesis to derive its nutrition. It steals nutrients from fungi instead. The plant has another peculiar character: its flowers never bloom. Researcher Kenji Suetsugu of Kobe University chanced upon some 100 individuals of the new plant in April [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[On the Japanese island of Kuroshima, a scientist has discovered a new species of plant that does not use photosynthesis to derive its nutrition. It steals nutrients from fungi instead. The plant has another peculiar character: its flowers never bloom. Researcher Kenji Suetsugu of Kobe University chanced upon some 100 individuals of the new plant in April 2016, during a research trip in the lowland forests in Kuroshima. Detailed examination of the plant revealed that it is a new member of the genus Gastrodia, a rare group of mycoheterotrophic orchids that are distributed in the temperate and tropical forests of Asia, Oceania, Madagascar and Africa. Suetsugu has named the new species Gastrodia kuroshimensis after the island on which it was discovered. The newly discovered orchid — like most other mycoheterotrophic plants — occurs in the dark understory of forests where little light penetrates, according to the new study published in Phytotaxa. So instead of using sunlight or photosynthesis to generate nutrients, the plant parasitizes fungi in the forest soil for its daily dose of nutrition. New orchid &#8211; Gastrodia kuroshimensis &#8211; discovered on Kuroshima island in Japan. Photo by Kenji Suetsugu. Moreover, the plant produces dark greenish-brown flowers that remain closed throughout the entire flowering period between April and May. The plants rely completely on self-pollination within closed buds instead. Such obligate self-pollination, or “complete cleistogamy”, is extremely rare, Suetsugu writes in the paper, but is relatively common in the genus Gastrodia and has been observed in at least three other species: G. clausa,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/new-parasitic-plant-doesnt-use-photosynthesis-its-flowers-never-bloom/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-190235</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New orchid discovered in Colombia is critically endangered</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/new-orchid-discovered-in-colombia-is-critically-endangered/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/new-orchid-discovered-in-colombia-is-critically-endangered/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jul 2016 09:37:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/07/01200156/Orchid-520x291.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=187550</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Environment, Orchids, Plants, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the forests of southern Colombia, scientists have discovered a new species of a reddish-violet orchid that is already on the verge of extinction. Researchers have named the new orchid species Telipogon diabolicus, referring to the orchid’s wine-red or maroon reproductive structure that resembles a devil’s head. The orchid’s most distinctive trait, the authors write [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the forests of southern Colombia, scientists have discovered a new species of a reddish-violet orchid that is already on the verge of extinction. Researchers have named the new orchid species Telipogon diabolicus, referring to the orchid’s wine-red or maroon reproductive structure that resembles a devil’s head. The orchid’s most distinctive trait, the authors write in the journal PhytoKeys, is its prominently clawed petals, a feature not observed in any other Colombian species of this genus. Discovered by Marta Kolanowska and Dariusz Szlachetko of University of Gdansk, Poland, and Ramiro Medina Trejo of Colombia, the orchid can grow between 5.5 to 9 centimeters in height. The rare species is known only from a single population of 30 orchids occurring on a small patch of wet montane forest on the border between departments Putumayo and Nariño in southern Colombia, according to the study. The lone population is found in a vulnerable habitat, the authors write, close to the main road Pasto-Mocoa. The ongoing reconstruction of the road could push the species towards extinction, they add. Consequently, the researchers have classified the species as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List. However, despite the rarity of this new orchid, the researchers are hopeful that many other new species will continue to be found in Colombia. &#8220;In the most recent catalogue of Colombian plants almost 3600 orchid species representing nearly 250 genera are included,&#8221; the authors write in the paper. &#8220;However, there is no doubt that hundreds of species occurring in this country remain undiscovered.&#8221; Close-up&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/new-orchid-discovered-in-colombia-is-critically-endangered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-187550</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>49 species added to Australia’s threatened list</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/49-species-added-australias-threatened-list/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/49-species-added-australias-threatened-list/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2016 07:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/05/01213418/1024px-Lathamus_discolor_-Antwerp_Zoo-8-440x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=186434</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Herps, Mammals, Orchids, Parrots, Plants, Reptiles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Last week, the Australian government added 49 species of plants and animals to its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) list of threatened and endangered species. The new additions include nine critically endangered species such as the myrtle elbow orchid (Thynninorchis nothofagicola), the copper beard orchid (Calochilus cupreus), the condamine earless dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis), [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Last week, the Australian government added 49 species of plants and animals to its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) list of threatened and endangered species. The new additions include nine critically endangered species such as the myrtle elbow orchid (Thynninorchis nothofagicola), the copper beard orchid (Calochilus cupreus), the condamine earless dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis), and the greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii). The government also upgraded the conservation status of many species, including the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and leadbeater’s possum from endangered to critically endangered. Swift parrot has been uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered. Photo by Frank Wouters, Wikimedia Commons, CC By-SA 2.0. Some conservationists say that the addition of species to the list shows that there is a better understanding of those species and the threats they face. &#8220;Much of the updated information in any sort of endangered species list is usually a function of refined information and better data collection as opposed to an actual, real change in the status,&#8221; Corey Bradshaw, Sir Hubert Wilkins chair of climate change at the University of Adelaide, told ABC news. &#8220;Because of the policy implications of a species being listed, it&#8217;s actually a really good thing from a conservation perspective that we have more species there because it certainly does restrict open-slather development, which has been characteristic of a lot of Australian development over the last 50 years.” Gregory Andrews, threatened species commissioner, told The Guardian that the status of many species on the list were “out of date”,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/49-species-added-australias-threatened-list/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-186434</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservationists propose Dracula Reserve in Ecuador</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/conservationists-propose-dracula-reserve-in-ecuador/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/conservationists-propose-dracula-reserve-in-ecuador/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2014 20:29:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/10/conservationists-propose-dracula-reserve-in-ecuador/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Choco Forest, Colombia, Ecuador, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Habitat Loss, Orchids, Plants, Protected Areas, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest Trust holds Halloween drive to raise $28,000 towards purchase of 652 acres of Chocó forest Deep in the dark, cool forests of Ecuador live strange and mysterious organisms. Some inhabit the trees and others stay to the ground, and many are threatened by human encroachment. Because of this threat, Rainforest Trust has launched a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rainforest Trust holds Halloween drive to raise $28,000 towards purchase of 652 acres of Chocó forest Deep in the dark, cool forests of Ecuador live strange and mysterious organisms. Some inhabit the trees and others stay to the ground, and many are threatened by human encroachment. Because of this threat, Rainforest Trust has launched a Halloween fundraising drive to help pay for the creation of the Dracula Reserve&#8211;named for its dramatic inhabitant, the Dracula orchid. The Dracula Reserve would be located in Ecuadors&#8217;s portion of the Chocó Biogeographical Region, a strip of coastal rainforest extending from northwestern Ecuador up through Colombia. The region is regarded by scientists as one of the most biodiverse places in the world, with many unique species that evolved in isolation after the uprising of the Andes separated the region from the Amazon Basin millions of years ago. The Chocó Biogeographical Region runs along the coasts of Ecuador and Colombia. Ecuador&#8217;s Chocó is especially threatened, with only 10 percent of forests remaining intact and 5 percent of tree cover over lost from 2001 through 2013. The portion spaning the Ecuador/Colombia border near the proposed Dracula Reserve (yellow dot) has been especially affected, with 12 percent tree cover loss in some areas in just over a decade. Map courtesy of Global Forest Watch. Click to enlarge. Named for their fang-like petals and the blood-red hue of some species, Dracula orchids are a genus spanning Mexico to Peru and comprising 118 known species. Ninety percent of Dracula orchids&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/10/conservationists-propose-dracula-reserve-in-ecuador/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24541</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Diverse, deceptive, declining: orchids threatened by deforestation in South America</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/diverse-deceptive-declining-orchids-threatened-by-deforestation-in-south-america/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/diverse-deceptive-declining-orchids-threatened-by-deforestation-in-south-america/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Sep 2014 17:41:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Julian Moll-rocek]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/09/diverse-deceptive-declining-orchids-threatened-by-deforestation-in-south-america/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Caribbean, Colombia, Ecuador, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Green, Habitat Loss, Orchids, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Orchids indicate ecosystem health, can be used to predict extinction of other species, manage forests High in a humid tropical forest in the Sierra de Cayey, Puerto Rico, Benjamin Crain and his field assistant were carefully picking their way through the dense growth of moss-clad trees. They were searching for orchids of the genus Lepanthes, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Orchids indicate ecosystem health, can be used to predict extinction of other species, manage forests High in a humid tropical forest in the Sierra de Cayey, Puerto Rico, Benjamin Crain and his field assistant were carefully picking their way through the dense growth of moss-clad trees. They were searching for orchids of the genus Lepanthes, diminutive plants that reach no more than two inches in height and are found clinging to the branches of trees. Pushing past a thick fern leaf, Crain stopped short, overcome by joy. As he broke into dance, his assistant peered curiously at the tiny lentil-shaped fruit dangling from a stem, and resolutely decided Crain was mad. After more than two years studying Lepanthes caritensis, a rare Puerto Rican endemic, Crain had finally found his first specimen bearing fruit. A tiny specimen of Lepanthes caritensis showing its beautiful red flower nestled among mosses. This rare Puerto Rican endemic is found in only two sites on the island of Puerto Rico, and has only been documented growing on 15 individual trees. Image courtesy of Benjamin Crain. Orchids, with their tantalizing smells and beautiful variety of flowers have captivated people’s imaginations for centuries. In Victorian England, the obsessive collection of orchids known as “orchidelirium” had wealthy fanatics financing orchid collecting expeditions all over the world. The hunt for rare orchids is not surprising, as orchids are an immensely biodiverse group of plants, containing some 25,000 species, or nearly one in ten of all seed plants. Among the more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/diverse-deceptive-declining-orchids-threatened-by-deforestation-in-south-america/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24639</doi>				</item>
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