A new wild orchid species, Dendrochilum ignisiflorum, has been described in the Philippine province of Benguet in the northern Cordilleras mountain range. This fiery orange orchid belongs to a genus found in high-elevation forests in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines, Borneo and Sumatra. The scientists who described it say the species is threatened by climate change, which could make its niche range uninhabitable. The mountain where it’s found is also an increasingly popular tourist spot, while the forests in the area around it are being cleared for agriculture. A new tiny orchid species with fiery orange flowers has been discovered on a mountain peak in the northern Philippines’ Cordilleras range. The wild orchid species was named Dendrochilum ignisiflorum and described in a study in the journal Phytotaxa . It belongs to the Dendrochilum genus which prefers the mossy or cloud forests blanketing the high mountains of Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines, Borneo and Sumatra. This new Philippine-endemic orchid has been proposed as vulnerable under the criteria of the IUCN Red List. Botanists recorded the species thriving at an elevation of around 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) on exposed ridges and the mossy forest summit of Mount Komkompol in […]
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