Ecobreves – CUBA: New Orchid Discovered

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Sep 1 2003 (IPS) - – Scientists in Pinar del Río, 170 km from the Cuban capital, discovered a new orchid species, the Encyclia cajalbanensis, in the Sierra del Rosario forest, a mountainous zone of this biologically rich western province. The flower, found by botanists José Lázaro Bocourt and Ernesto Mujica, has spatula-shaped petals measuring 14 millimeters, no perceptible aroma, and a yellow-green color, except for some purple streaks.

The Encyclia cajalbanensis belongs to the Encyclia hook genre, with species distributed throughout an area extending from the southern U.S. state of Florida, through the Antilles, Mexico and Central America, southwards to Paraguay and Argentina.