Orchids are usually valued for their grace and loveliness, but a newly described species from Madagascar is unlikely to win beauty pageants. Its tiny flowers are mottled brown and resemble a moldy paper bag (or maybe an eyeless, worm-like head with a mouth that gapes in a silent scream or consumes your soul).
It’s no wonder the newly discovered species was named “the ugliest orchid in the world” by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) in the UK in 2020, representatives said in a statement.
The leafless orchid named Gastrodia agnicellus, grows underground in rotting foliage for most of its life cycle and is nourished by fungi. In addition to the “small, brown and rather ugly” orchid, researchers and employees of the RBG Kew have described more than 150 plants and fungi this year, according to a statement.
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In 2019, British botanist Johan Hermans, a volunteer at RBG Kew, found a number of G. agnicellus Orchids hiding among leaves in a damp Madagascar forest. Their lumpy, elongated shapes suggested the flower belonged to a group known as the potato orchids, and the flowers, which are about 1.1 inches long, emit a “noticeable musky rose-like odor” that increases when the temperature is air warmer, Hermans wrote in a study published in the journal Nov. 5 Curtis’ Botanical Magazine.
Other newly described species on the list include a scaly, heat-resistant shrub that thrives in Namibian salt pans (Tiganophyton karasense); a Peruvian plant with purple bulbs that could be a new food plant (Ipomoea noemana); and a vibrant, brightly colored bromeliad – a family of tropical flowering plants that includes the pineapple – from Brazil (Acanthostachys calcicola) that grows on limestone cliffs and that hummingbirds say can be pollinated.
“In a challenging and difficult year, it is so exciting to see botanical and mycological science continue. A list of incredible newly named species is being documented with our staff around the world,” said Martin Cheek, botanist and senior scientist at RBG Kew’s Identification and Naming Department.
“The bleak reality we face cannot be underestimated, however: with two out of five plants threatened with extinction, it’s a race against time to find, identify, name, and conserve plants before they can go away, “said Cheek.
Originally published on Live Science.