Hochstetter's Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera azorica)
Description
Platanthera azorica, commonly known as Hochstetter's butterfly orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus Platanthera. It was "rediscovered" in 2013 on a single volcanic ridge on the central Azores island of São Jorge, and "is arguably Europe's rarest bona fide orchid species." While P. azorica was previously considered by some sources to be the same as Platanthera micrantha, the 2013 discovery triggered a thorough analysis of historic and current data and specimens, resulting in three species identified. Platanthera azorica is currently known to grow only in a single small upland area of São Jorge. Hochstetter's earlier expedition did not include São Jorge, so at least at one time it lived on another Azorean island. Genetic testing confirms that the lineage of the species derives from Europe or North Africa, rather than North America as had been previously hypothesized, and evidence suggests "that the Azorean lineage represents a single migration of seed to the archipelago from a mainland European population
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Orchidaceae
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Genus: Platanthera
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