Govenia polychroma: A new species of Orchid from Veracruz State, Mexico.

Epidendroid Orchids, Epidendroideae, are the largest subfamily of Orchids, with over 15 000 described species, more than all other Orchid groups combined. The majority of these species are epiphytic (live on other plants, typically in the canopy of rainforest trees), though terrestrial forms are known. The group is found across the globe, with the exception of the polar regions, the deserts of Africa, Arabia and Australia, and the southern part of South America. The genus Govenia comprises about 24 species of geophytic (rock-dwelling) Orchids from South and Central America and the Caribbean, which grow from underground rhizomes (root-like stems) and produce racemes of small but showy flowers.

In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 6 March 2018, Gerado Salazar of the Departamento de Botánica at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Adrián Fernández-Díaz of the Asociación Orizabeña de Orquideología, Carlos René Huerta-Alvízar of La Patrona, Rolando Jiménez-Machorro of the Herbario AMO, Lidia Cabrera, also of the Departamento de Botánica at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and David Jimeno-Sevilla of the Herbario at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Zongolica, describe a new species of Govenia from Veracruz State in Mexico.

The new species is named Govenia polychroma, meaning 'multi-coloured' in reference to the brightly coloured flowers of this species. The species is a herbaceous plant reaching 65−80 cm in height, producing two large leaves and an inflorescence with up to 40 small flowers from an underground rhizome. Flowers are produced from August to early October, and are yellow, magenta, purplish-magenta, white, and brown, producing a distinctive smell in the late afternoon.

Govenia polychroma. Flowering plant in situ at Reserva del Bicentenario, Zongolica, Veracruz. David Jimeno-Sevilla in Salaza et al. (2018).

The species grows on leaf mold near rocky outcrops at altitudes of between 850 and 1350 m in cloud forest. Only forteen specimens of this species were discovered, eleven at the base of a 20 m cliff adjacent to a coffee plantation, an area with no legal protection, and three within the Reserva del Bicentenario. For this reason Salazar et al. recommend that the species be treated as Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Govenia polychroma. Flower. Rolando Jiménez-Machorro in Salaza et al. (2018).

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Eremogone ali-gulii: A new species of Eremogone from eastern Turkey.

Eremogones are small perennial flower in the Carnation family, Caryophyllaceae. They have thread-like leaves and small white (or sometimes pink) flowers, and tend to grow in thick clumps from woody horizontal stems. Ergomogones favour warm, dry climates. 

In a paper published in the journal PhytoKeys on 25 February 2016, Murat Koç of the Department of Biology and Animal Production High School at Bozok University and Ergin Hamzaoğlu of the Department of Elementary Education at Gazi University describe a new species of Eremogone from Erzurum Province in eastern Turkey.

The new species is named Eremogone ali-gulii in honour of the hydrobiologist Ali Gül of the Gazi Faculty of Education at Gazi University. It is a tufted perennial herb reaching 10-18 cm in height, producing white flowers from June to July. The plant was found growing on serpentine soils (nutrient poor non-calcitic alkaline soils, typically derived from volcanic or metamorphic rocks) at two sites, one on Kop mountain between Bayburt and Aşkale and the other near Karasu village between Erzurum and Erzincan.

Eremogone ali-gulii, whole plant. Koç & Hamzaoğlu (2016).

Eremogone ali-gulii  has been found growing only at two locations, both of which are prone to human disturbances such as grazing animals or land-use change. For this reason Koç and Hamzaoğlu recommend that it be classed as Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

 See also...

Two new species of Oxalis from Northern Cape Province, South Africa.                             Plants of the genus Oxalis are found in South America, where there are around 250 species of herbs, shrubs and vines, and Southern Africa, where there are around 210 species, all of which are bulbous perennials...

A new species of Burr Marigold from Rapa in the Austral Islands, French Polynesia.            The Austral Islands are a group of eight volcanic islands to the south of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rapa is the second largest of these...

A new species of Tulip from Anhui Province in eastern China.                                        Tulips of the genus Amana are found in eastern Asia. They are very similar to the Tulips of Western Asia and Europe, which are placed in the genus Tulipa, differing only in the presence of bracts on the upper part of...

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A new species of Hawkweed from Bulgaria.

Hawkweeds (Hieracium spp.) are herbaceous flowering plants in the Aster Family (Asteraceae), closely related to Dandelions. There are numerous species in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America, though the precise number of species is open to dispute, as most Hawkweeds are triploid (have three sets of chromosomes, which means that they cannot reproduce sexually (which requires an even number of chromosomes sets, which can then divide and recombine); the plants instead produce seeds asexually that are genetically identical to the parent plant. These triploid species are thought to have arisen by hybridization of diploid species (i.e. species with two sets of chromosomes that can reproduce sexually). This has led to some dispute over the classification of Hawkweeds, with American botanists tending to regard only the diploid, sexual, species as truly valid taxa with other plats regarded as hybrids of these, while in Europe botanists have tended to recognize the triploid, asexual, varieties as species as well, arguing that they may be of hybrid origin, and incapable of reproducing sexually, but are clearly successful organisms capable of sustaining large stable populations and competing against diploid plants.

In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 20 May 2013, Zbigniew Szeląg of the Institute of Botany at Jagiellonian University, and Vladimir Vladimirov of the Department of Plant and Fungal Diversity and Resources at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, describe a new species of Hawkweed from the central Rhodopes Mountains of southern Bulgaria.

Specimen of Hieracium crinitopannosum from by the road from Devin town to Mihalkovo village in the central Rhodopes Mountains of southern Bulgaria. Szeląg & Vladimirov (2013).

The new species is named Hieracium crinitopannosum; it is thought to be a hybrid between Hieracium crinitum and Hieracium petrovae, two diploid species found in the Rhodopes Mountains (Hieracium petrovae) and nearby Vacha River valley (Hieracium crinitum). Hieracium crinitopannosum is a 25-55 cm robust Hawkweed that flowers (pointlessly) in July and August and sets seeds in September. It is found growing in open spaces on eroded and rocky slopes in stands of a several dozen to a few hundred in the central Rhodopes Mountains of southern Bulgaria; Szeląg & Vladimirov suggest that it is likely that it is also found across the border in northern Greece.

The approximate location of the area where Hieracium crinitopannosum was discovered. Google Maps.

See also New species of Daisy from Brazil and Protests against hydraulic fractionation across Bulgaria.

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New species of Daisy from Brazil.

Daisies of the genus Trichocline are found across southern South America, with a single species from Australia. They are small perennial herbs with red, yellow, orange, or rarely white flowers found on sandy or rocky grasslands, shrublands, or human-modified areas such as roadsides with exposed soil, mostly at high altitudes.

In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 23 January 2012, Eduardo Pasini of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and Mara Rejane Ritter of the Departamento de Botânica at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul describe a new species of Trichocline  from southern Brazil and adjacent areas of Uruguay.

The new species is named Trichocline cisplatina, with cisplatina meaning beside the Platina, referring to the Río de la Plata. The plants were found in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and Rocha Province, Uruguay. They grew on rocky or sandy soils on grasslands, shrublands and disturbed soils, on coastal plains up to an altitude of 400 m.

Map showing the known distribution of Trichocline cisplatina (black circles), and the closely related Trichocline catharinensis (black squares). Pasini & Ritter (2012).

Trichocline cisplatina is a herbaceous plant reaching 23 cm in total height when flowering. It is considered to by Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, due to introduced commercial Pines and European Gorse in its range.

(Top) Photograph of Trichocline cisplatina in the wild. (Bottom) Line drawing of Trichocline cisplatina. Pasini & Ritter (2012).

Environments colonized by Trichocline cisplatina. (Top) Sandy grassland. (Bottom) Hillside with shrubland vegetation. Pasini & Ritter (2012).

See also A new, diploid, Pincushion Plant, from the Rocky Mountains, New species of Ox-eye Bean from Costa Rica and Panama, New species of Pipewort from Brazil, A new species of Orchid from Bahia State, Brazil and New species of parasitic Broomrape from South Korea. 

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