In the northern mountains of Peru, where the slopes of the Andes are often shrouded in thick fog, botanists have discovered a tiny orchid. Its dark-red flowers with a yellow rim almost blend into the damp rocks, and they are not easy to spot even for an experienced eye. The scientists named the plant Lepanthes phuyupitika. The name is made up of two words from the Quechua language: phuyupi ("among the clouds" or "in the fog") and t'ika ("flower"). The result is "flower among the clouds" — an accurate description of the environment in which the plant lives.
So far about 25 adult plants are known, and all of them grow in two locations far apart from each other — in the Piura and Amazonas regions. The description of the new species was published on 21 October in the international journal Lankesteriana. Specialists from the National University Pedro Ruiz Gallo, the National Forest and Wildlife Service of Peru (Serfor), the University of Cambridge and the National University Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza in Amazonas worked on the study together. The plant was first documented during an expedition in May through the provinces of Huancabamba and Ayabaca.
The orchid lives at an altitude of 3400 to 3900 metres, in the páramo and the upper part of the cloud forests, where the air is almost always saturated with moisture. It is a lithophyte: it settles directly on rocks rather than on tree trunks and branches, as most of its relatives do. Its closest relative is the Venezuelan Lepanthes unitrinervis. The new species differs from it in having a larger dorsal sepal and petals, the shape of the lip and a longer column. These differences confirm that this is a separate species and not a local variety of an already known plant.
Serfor warns that regular burning of meadows and grazing put the habitats of this orchid at risk. Even a few fires can seriously hit a population that already numbers only a few dozen individuals.
The scientists have provisionally assigned the species to the category "Endangered" according to IUCN criteria. The assessment was made under criterion B: it relies on the limited range and the ongoing degradation of the environment due to fires and grazing. The high Andes have been poorly studied: until recently, only seven species of the genus Lepanthes were known in Peru above 3000 metres. New expeditions may find additional populations, but without protection from fire and grazing the chances for this tiny flower remain slim.
