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Costa Rica with all of its biodiversity is certainly a place to explore for biologists, researchers and nature enthusiasts. Researcher Auguste R. Endres spent seven years discovering, researching and collecting indigenous flora in Costa Rica, especially orchids. In his travels through the Caribbean, described an orchid species of the genus Trichocentrum. Later, other researchers detected a similar orchid South Pacific region and assigned the same name discovered by Endres. Error. It was not the same flower.
“This ‘masked’ to the South Pacific species,” said Diego Bogarín researcher Lankester Botanical Garden, University of Costa Rica.
The species “masked” was recently described and named Bogarín and teammate Adam Karremans as Trichocentrum pupulinianum. The new discovery was not random; but it is the result of five years of efforts in which both scientists first made an historical inquiry Endres and then a morphological evaluation of the species located in the south Pacific. Who was Endres? What areas of the country did he explore? Were some of the questions answered in this research. Endres, for example, never explored the Pacific region of Costa Rica.
In the biological field, the experts determined that “orchid located in the Atlantic region was different from that of the Pacific,” said Bogarín.
This was determined by examining both species, taking into account their morphological differences. Furthermore, making correlations with geography or sites in which they were present.To carry out this task, the scientists had to resort to material originally collected by Endres, which is now located in Vienna, Austria. Analyzing this plant in a laboratory; it was determined that orchid Endres was described in the Caribbean, Pacific whereas left “orphaned.” So they gave it a new name.
“We also observed that the Trichocentrum pupulinianum belongs to the Pacific lowlands and extends to Panama, as there is a log near the border,” said Bogarín.
This orchid has bulbs (modified stems to store water) very small and very fleshy leaf (thick). Its flowers are about two inches, are white with red spots are present from December to March.The presence of these plants occurs in secondary and primary forest, montane rainforest, tropical rainforest and humid along the Pacific slope. They can be found at an altitude between 500 and 1,300 m. Pupulinianum Trichocentrum name was given in honor of the Italian-Rican botanist Pupulin Franco, who has been one of the drivers of research in the Lankester Botanical Garden and gender scholar Trichocentrum. The development of this research was important Bogarín Karremans and therefore also work on an inventory of orchids from Costa Rica. “That means we must study all the genera and species are in the country,” said Bogarín. In addition, historical research has not only to do with the specific orchid, but also with other species that were studied previously.
“In science there is precedence: the works that were published before should be studied. So you know if the species were already studied or whether they should put a name, “said the expert.
He also considered relevant to study the figure of French Auguste R. Endres, whom he knew very little and whose contribution to botany Rica was very important.
http://tipscostarica.com/new-species-of-orchid-discovered-in-costa-rica/
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