Phragmipedium kovachii

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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 Template:Convert wide. It is currently considered a critically endangered species by the IUCN, due to overcollection in the wild.

DescriptionEdit

A terrestrial, or lithophytic orchid, Phragmipedium kovachii grows in clumps.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":4" /> The short stems have up to nine leaves each,<ref name=":4" /> which are linear-lanceolate in shape, glossy green, and up to Template:Convert long and up to Template:Convert wide. They are thick and have an acute tip; the primary vein is prominent beneath.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> The flower stalk is Template:Convert tall with a solitary flower that is Template:Convert wide.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> The sepals are broadly elliptic in shape and covered with golden-brown hairs externally, and whitish to rose-pink internally.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> The petals are pink to dark purple, broadly elliptic to obovate in shape, up to Template:Convert long, with recurved margins; except for the cup-shaped lip or labellum, which can be up Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide, and is purple to fuchsia in colour.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> The fruits are capsules up to Template:Convert long and up to Template:Convert in diameter.<ref name=":4" />

File:Phragmipedium kovachii bloom.jpg

Phragmipedium kovachii bloom

TaxonomyEdit

The first published description of this species was made in June 2002 by John Atwood and Stig Dalström of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and Ricardo Fernandez from the San Marcos National University Herbarium (USM).<ref name=":0" /> An independent description prepared by orchid taxonomist Eric Christenson was published just afterwards in July 2002, using the name Phragmipedium peruvianum,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> which thereby became a synonym of P. kovachii.<ref name=":4" />

It was initially assigned to subgenus Micropetalum;<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref> however, it was later moved to its own subgenus Schluckebieria.<ref name="Schlukebieria">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

ControversyEdit

Michael Kovach, an American orchid collector<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":4" /> According to a report in the journal Nature, Selby Botanical Gardens knew that Eric Christenson 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.<ref name=":1" />

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.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 Kovach to trial.<ref name=":2" /> Kovach was sentenced to 2 years probation and a fine of $1000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While Selby Botanic Gardens saw its CITES permit revoked, was sentenced to a fine of $5000, and staff member Wesley Higgins received a 6-month restriction order.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite journal</ref>

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).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Counterarguments were presented in several articles.<ref name="NC">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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."<ref name="NC" />

Distribution and habitatEdit

File:Phragmipedium kovachii - Flickr 003.jpg

Phragmipedium kovachii at The Pacific Orchid Exposition, San Francisco, CA. 2011.

Phragmipedium kovachii is known only from a small area of five localities in the regions of Amazonas and San Martín, Peru.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> It grows in primary montane forest, at 1600–1950 (−2000) m of elevation, on limestone cliffs.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref> The habitat of this species provides constant rainfall, organic matter and calcareous soil, with a pH of 6.8–7.1 (−7.9).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /> Temperature in the area has an average of 26 °C in summer and 18 °C in winter; precipitation average is in the range of Template:Convert.<ref name=":5" />

EcologyEdit

Phragmipedium kovachii grows in clumps of 15 to 20 individuals on cretaceous limestone cliffs facing south, in east–west oriented valleys.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> It is apparently a soil specialist since, unlike other Phragmipedium species, it prefers calcareous soils with an 85.7% of calcium carbonate content.<ref name=":5" />

Pollinators of this species are still unknown to science, but thought to be larger than in other Phragmipedium species, due to the bigger size of the lip.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref name=":3" />

ConservationEdit

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.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> Following the publication, other three localities were also overcollected.<ref name=":4" /> It is estimated that 5000 plants or more have been extracted from the wild.<ref name=":5" /> Despite its inclusion in Appendix I of CITES, there's criticism on the measure, as it is believed that it is an ineffective tool against smuggling as it slows the introduction of wild species in the legal market.<ref name=":5" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />

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.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

CultivationEdit

Phragmipedium kovachii will thrive in any moist growing medium with calcium content similar to the soil of its habitat, always watching for the pH levels.<ref name=":5" /> Fertilizers must be applied carefully especially in young plants, as fertilizers contain salts.<ref name=":5" /> Light requirements are medium, avoiding intense light especially when young; mature individuals can tolerate more light.<ref name=":5" /> Being an orchid of high elevations, temperature must be in the range of its natural habitat.<ref name=":5" />