Phragmipedium kovachii

Phragmipedium kovachii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Cypripedioideae
Genus: Phragmipedium
Species: P. kovachii
Binomial name
Phragmipedium kovachii
Atwood, Dalström & Fernández
Synonyms

Phragmipedium peruvianum Christenson

Phragmipedium kovachii is an orchid species found to be new to science in 2001, native to the Andean cloud forests of northern Peru. A species with terrestrial habit and growing in clumps of several individuals, it displays showy pink to purple flowers up to 20 cm wide.

Description

A terrestrial orchid growing in clumps.[1][2] The short stems have up to 9 leaves.[2] Leaves linear-lanceolate, glossy green, up to 64 cm long and up to 5 cm wide; thick; with acute apex; the primary vein is prominent beneath.[1][2] Flower stalk 20-52 cm tall with a solitary flower 10-20 cm wide.[1][2] Sepals with golden-brown hairs externally; whitish to rose-pink internally; broadly elliptic.[1][2] Petals pink to dark purple, broadly elliptic to obovate, up to 6 cm long, with recurved margins; except for the cup-shaped lip or labellum which can be up 7.5 cm long and 4 cm wide, purple to fuchsia.[1][2] Fruits: capsules up to 10.5 cm long and up to 0.9 cm in diameter.[2]

Phragmipedium kovachii bloom

Taxonomy

The species was published as new to science on June 2002 by J. Atwood and S Dalström of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and R. Fernandez from the San Marcos National University Herbarium (USM).[1]

On July 2002, Eric Christenson, published this same species under the name Phragmipedium peruvianum,[3] which is regarded as a synonym as of today.[2]

It was initially assigned to subgenus Micropetalum;[1][4] however, it was later moved to its own subgenus Schluckebieria.[5][4][6]

Controversy

Michael Kovach, who bought the live type specimen of P. kovachii from a roadside vendor in Peru, had smuggled the plant into the US and taken it to the Selby Botanical Gardens.[7][2] According to a report in the journal Nature, Selby Botanical Gardens knew that E. Christenson, another orchids taxonomist, would publish the same species in a forthcoming issue of the journal Orchids, so they rushed to publish their description in a supplement of the Selby Gardens' journal, Selbyana.[7]

Orchids in genus Phragmipedium are protected under the CITES treaty, so any trade or possession that doesn't comply with CITES standards is deemed illegal.[8] An investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and assisted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Customs Service and the then CITES authority in Peru (INRENA) among others, brought Mr. Kovach to trial.[8] Michael Kovach was sentenced to 2 years probation and a fine of $1000.[9] While Selby Botanic Gardens saw its CITES permit revoked, was sentenced to a fine of $5000, and staff member W. Higgins received a 6 month restriction order.[2]

A nomenclatural proposal was put forward in 2006 to declare the name Phragmipedium kovachii invalid and to add its original ad hoc publication "Selbyana vol. 23 Supplement" to the “opera utique oppressa” (ICN Appendix VI).[10] Counterarguments were presented in several articles.[11] The Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants declined to accept the proposal, stating "if all names based on specimens illegally collected or named after persons who have acted unwisely ... were to be rejected, we might have some major nomenclatural instability."[11]

Distribution and habitat

Phragmipedium kovachii

P. kovachii is known only from a small area of five localities in the regions of Amazonas and San Martín, Peru.[1][2][12] It grows in primary montane forest, at 1600-1950 (-2000) m of elevation, on limestone cliffs.[13][12] The habitat of this species provides constant rainfall, organic matter and calcareous soil, with a pH of 6.8-7.1 (-7.9).[13][12] Temperature in the area has an average of 26°C in summer and 18°C in winter; precipitation average is in the range of 1000-1500 mm[12]

Ecology

P. kovachii grows in clumps of 15 to 20 individuals on cretacean limestone cliffs facing south, in east-west oriented valleys.[2][12] It is apparently a soil specialist since, unlike other Phragmipedium species, it prefers calcareous soils with a 85.7% of calcium carbonate content.[12]

Pollinators of this species are still unknown to science, but seem to be larger than in other Phragmipedium species, due to the bigger size of the lip.[13] It is also hypothesized that the color pattern of the flowers mimics that of Tibouchina species, and helps attract pollinators that are sensitive to color.[13]

Conservation

Overcollecting is a major threat to the survival of P. kovachii in the wild as it was found that one locality of P. kovachii was depleted of plants, possibly even before the scientific publication in Selbyana.[2][12] Following the publication, other three localities were also overcollected.[2] It is estimated that 5000 plants or more have been extracted from the wild.[12] Despite its inclusion in Appendix I of CITES, there's criticism on the measure, as it is believed that it is an uneffective tool against smuggling as it slows the introduction of wild species in the legal market.[12][14]

The Peruvian government, in an effort to officialize the trade of P. kovachii and reduce its illegal extraction, licensed some plant nurseries for the propagation of this species.[2][12]

Due to the reduction of its population by overcollection and its small area of extent, Phillip Cribb (orchid expert from Kew Gardens) and the IUCN have assigned Phragmipedium kovachii the critically endangered conservation status.[2][15]

Cultivation

This species requires a growing medium with calcium content similar to the calcareous soil of its habitat, always watching for the pH levels.[12] Soil must be moist and the use of fertilizers must be done carefully especially in young plants, as fertilizers contain salts.[12] Light requirements are medium, avoiding intense light especially when young; mature individuals can tolerate more light.[12] Being an orchid of high elevations, temperature must be in the range of its natural habitat.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Atwood, John T.; Dalström, Stig; Fernandez, Ricardo (2002). "Phragmipedium kovachii, a New Species from Peru". Selbyana. 23 (Supplement): 1–4.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Cribb, Phillip (2005). "511. Phragmipedium Kovachii". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 22 (1): 8–11. ISSN 1467-8748. doi:10.1111/j.1355-4905.2005.00454.x.
  3. ↑ Christenson, E. (2002). "Phragmipedium peruvianum: the most glorious new Phragmipedium species in two decades is described". Orchids. American Orchid Society. 71 (7): 620–622.
  4. 1 2 Braem, G. (2011). "A Re-evaluation of the Infrageneric Taxonomy of the Genus Phragmipedium" (PDF). Richardiana. 12 (1): 16–24.
  5. ↑ Braem, G. (2004). "Phragmipedium kovachii, Schluckebieria – nouvelle section du genre Phragmipedium et réflexions sur les pratiques taxinomiques". Richardiana. 4 (3): 89–102.
  6. ↑ Braem, G. (2011). "Validation of Phragmipedium subgenus Schluckebieria (Orchidaceae: Cypripedioideae)" (PDF). Richardiana. 15: 289–290.
  7. 1 2 Borrell, Brendan (2007-03-15). "Linnaeus at 300: The big name hunters". Nature. 446 (7133): 253–255. ISSN 0028-0836. doi:10.1038/446253a.
  8. 1 2 "#397: 06-10-04 VIRGINIA ORCHID DEALER PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOLATING THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT". www.justice.gov. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  9. ↑ Press, The Associated. "Man Sentenced for Bringing Plant to U.S.". The Ledger. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  10. ↑ Van Rijckevorsel, Paul. "Proposal to add Selbyana vol. 23 Supplement to the "opera utique oppressa"" (PDF). Taxon. 55 (4): 1053–1053. doi:10.2307/25065718.
  11. 1 2 Brummitt, R.K. (2009). "Report of the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants: 60". Taxon. 58 (1): 280–292.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Decker, G. (2007). "Phragmipedium kovachii". Orchids. American Orchid Society. 76 (11): 826–833.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Koopowitz, H. (2003). "The Manrique Expedition". Orchid Digest. 67 (4): 248–255.
  14. ↑ Zelenko, H. (2007). "Not a single orchid...". Lankesteriana. 7 (1-2): 164–166.
  15. ↑ "Phragmipedium kovachii (Kovach's Phragmipedium )". www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2017-05-08.

Further reading

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