Aracamunia

Aracamunia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Subtribe: Spiranthinae
Genus: Aracamunia
Carnevali & I.Ramírez
Species: A. liesneri
Binomial name
Aracamunia liesneri
Carnevali & I. Ramírez

Aracamunia liesneri, collected by R. Liesner and F. Delascia in 1987, is the sole species in the orchid genus Aracamunia. It is the only orchid strongly suspected of being carnivorous. A. liesneri bears peculiar, rigid, tongue-like structures with apparently sticky tips emanating from the bases of its leaves.[1]

It was found on Cerro Aracamuni in Venezuela, an area with nutrition-poor soil that apparently favors the emergence of assimilative (carnivorous) species.[2]

References

  1. Carnevali, G. & I. Ramírez. 1989. Aracamunia liesneri Carnevali & I. Ramírez, gen. et sp. nov. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 76: 962.
  2. Rice, B. 2007. Heliamphora from the western ranges. The Carnivorous Plant FAQ.