newly discovered pink orchid species in japan sprouts like ethereal glasswork

Japan’s new pink orchid resembling delicate glasswork

A multi-institutional team of researchers including Kenji Suetsugu, Shun K. Hirota, Hiroshi Hayakawa, Shohei Fujimori, Masayuki Ishibashi, Tian-Chuan Hsu, and Yoshihisa Suyama has recently discovered a new orchid species in Japan that elegantly grows like glass art. The pink flower sprouts, folds, and bends delicately with flimsy petals and an ethereal opening that seems to glisten like silver glitters.

The researchers note that it is rare for a new plant species to be discovered in Japan, even if the nation has been extensively studied and documented for its flora habitat. Still, they spotted the rosy pink orchid near Hachijo Island in Tokyo Prefecture and decided to name it Spiranthes hachijoensis as a homage to its birthplace.

The new pink orchid species in Japan can be found in familiar places such as lawns and parks, and even in private gardens and on balconies. The team’s research suggests that other new species may be hiding in common places, away from plain sight. Their statement encourages other researchers to venture into their domestic spaces rather than remote tropical rainforests, implying that scientific discoveries might just be right under their noses.

Spiranthes sinensis (Masayuki Teruya Ss200, KYO) on Okinawa Island, Okinawa Pref., Japan. a Inflorescence. b Flower, lateral view. c Flower, dorsal view. d Dorsal sepal. e Petal. f Lateral sepal. g Flattened labellum. h Close-up of basal callosities of labellum. i Ovary and column. j Close-up of glabrous ovary. k Column, bottom view. l Column, top view. m Pollinia with a viscidium. Scale bars: a 15 mm, b–g 3 mm, h 0.5 mm, i, k, l 1 mm, and j 0.3 mm. | images courtesy of the researchers, via Springer Link | photos by Masayuki Ishibashi (unless stated)

New family member in the genus Spiranthes

The researchers – who come from Kobe University, Tohoku University, and Taiwan Forestry Research Institute to name a few – state in their study that the orchids in the genus Spiranthes have a wide range of compelling morphological characteristics within their enticing facets and variety. Their moniker ‘ladies’ tresses’ refers to the small, spiral-shaped flowers that spring from the genus. They are often white or pinkish in color and wrap themselves around a central stalk, just like the recently discovered pink orchid species.

The most well-known and beloved orchid in Japan is Spiranthes, which has been revered for centuries. It even appears in the Manyoshu, Japan’s oldest surviving collection of poetry. The appearance of the new pink orchid species is a breakthrough for the Japanese team of researchers since for a long time, it was believed that the Spiranthes on the Japanese mainland constituted only a single species named Spiranthes australis. Professor Suetsugu stumbled upon several populations of an unknown Spiranthes taxon with hairless flower stems on the mainland of Japan.

Since the dubbed only-orchid-genus Spiranthes australis is characterized by a hairy flower stem, Professor Suetsugu thought that the hairless beings he saw might have been an overlooked species. Suetsugu and his colleagues embarked on a comprehensive and multifaceted ten-year study to determine precisely how these plants differed and collected specimens from various locations in Japan, Taiwan, and Laos. They integrated the results found in their DNA analysis, morphology, field observations, and reproductive biology and came up with the discovery of the new pink orchid in Japan.

Spiranthes hachijoensis (Katsumi Iwahori KS246, KYO) in Ena-shi, Gifu Pref., Japan. a Inflorescence. b Flower, lateral view. c Flower, top view. d Dorsal sepal. e Petal. f Lateral sepal. g Labellum. h Close-up of basal labellum callosities. i Ovary and column. j, k Column, bottom view. l Column, top view. m Pollinia without a viscidium. Scale bars: a 20 mm, b–g 3 mm, h 0.5 mm, and i–m 1 mm