Colombian botanists have described a remarkable new cloud forest orchid, Lepanthes nasariana, found growing in the Western and Central Andes at altitudes between 2,800 and 3,600 metres. The discovery is immediately overshadowed by alarming projections: climate models suggest the species could lose up to 96% of its suitable habitat by 2090 under a worst-case scenario.
The researchers named the orchid after the protagonist of Gabriel García Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold — a deliberate reference to its seemingly foretold fate, and a call to action for conservation efforts before it is too late.
