"A hybrid of two endangered orchid species... the British Isles has been recorded...
The discovery was made by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust at Hartslock Nature Reserve in South Oxfordshire. Morphological analysis by London's Natural History Museum confirmed that, for the first time in the UK, monkey orchids and lady orchids on the site have interbred... [Monkey Orchid = Orchis simia / Lady Orchid = Orchis purpurea] Subsequent genetic analysis, carried out... at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, proved the plant was a new hybrid. It is the first time that this has been recorded in the UK. BROWT's reserves manager for Oxfordshire Martyn Lane said "The monkey orchid... only found on two native sites in England. "The lady orchid became established here for the first time in 1998..." Both species are named due to the distinctive shape of their flowers, which do indeed resemble a tiny monkey and a crinoline skirted woman. The hybrid orchid closely resembles another similar species - the military orchid [Orchis militaris L.] - although detailed morphological analysis by Professor Richard Bateman, the Natural History Museum's orchid specialist, revealed that the hybrids and the soldier can be distinguished. He said: "This raises the very interesting possibility that the military orchid could have originated long ago as a result of hybridisation between parents that resembled the monkey and lady orchids. "Closely related orchid species readily interbreed. In addition, it is usually possible to identify which species is the "mother" and which the "father," as the offspring bear a much stronger physical resemblance to the mother. In this case, it would appear, appropriately, that the lady orchid is the mother." Dr Mike Fay and colleagues of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, carried out the genetic analysis that proved the plant was a hybrid, and that the lady orchid was indeed the mother. Dr Fay said: "We should be moving away from the idea of protecting individual species in this case and instead be thinking about "conservation of process," that is to say, maintaining the capacity of species to evolve and disperse. ... Hartslock's reserve warden Chris Raper cares for the site on a day to day basis. Asked whether he is concerned about the presence of the vigorous hybrid on the reserve and if he thinks it poses a threat to the genetic integrity of the two parent species... : "It is my theory that in the past, the three species grew in colonies scattered all along the south Chilterns... They probably hybridised much more frequently and the resulting plants were consequently harder to split into distinct species. Far from being a problem, the new hybrids might actually be returning the population to a more natural state where occasional mixing of genes between the species was normal." Hartslock's orchids have now finished flowering for this season. The Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife trust will continue to manage the site to give them the best chance of survival in the future... As a result of careful management the monkey orchid population on site has already increased from 60 plants in 1986 to 405 plants in 2006." Article URL: http://www.24dash.com/content/news/viewNews.php?navID=58&newsID=8853 ********** regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
