Big Pink is a Newly Described Orchid Species
Posted on October 1, 2015
Big Pink is a newly described species of orchid. The wild orchid species has been sitting at flower stalls since 2013. It grows in the wild in the Philippines at 1,200 meters above sea level.
Bobby Sulistyo and his team discovered that relatives of Big Pink could make hybrids. The scientists conducted sophisticated DNA analyses to conclude that the orchid is a separate species within its genus and that it is not an artificial hybrid. It has been given the scientific name, Dendrochilum hampelii.
The species was eventually found in the wild as well in the Philippines in the in the northern provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental on the island of Mindana. The scientists say that fresh flowers of plants observed in the wild were a pale yellow whereas fresh flowers of the cultivated plants studied were pinkish salmon-colored.
A research paper on the discovery can be found here in the journal, PhytoKeys.