Amesiella monticola

Amesiella monticola
Flower of Amesiella monticola
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Genus:	Amesiella
Species:	A. monticola
Binomial name
Amesiella monticola Cootes & D.P.Banks
distribution of Amesiella monticola
Synonyms [2]
Amesiella philippinensis var. monticola(Cootes & D.P.Banks) R.Rice

Amesiella monticola is a miniature species of epiphytic orchid native to the Philippines. The specific epithet "monticola" refers to the montaneous habitat of the species. Monticola is a combination of "mons" or "montis", meaning mountain and "cola" or "colere" meaning "inhabitant" or "dweller". ^[3]

Description

These monopodial herbs form small, leathery leaves. ^[4] The genus Amesiella forms white flowers with long spurs. ^[5] The 1–6 very large flowers in relation to the vegetative parts of the plants are borne on short, axillary racemes. They have a characteristic long, twisted spur, indicating moth pollination. ^[6] The flowers are purely white, devoid of any golden pigmentation of the labellum. This separates it from Amesiella philippinensis.

Taxonomy

By some this species is treated as a mere variation of Amesiella philippinensis. Hence, it is synonymous with Amesiella philippinensis var. monticola. ^[2]

Conservation

This species is critically endangered and its population is decreasing. ^{[7] [1]}

References

1. Agoo, E.M.G.; Cootes, J.; Golamco, A. Jr.; de Vogel, E.F.; Tiu, D. (2004). "Amesiella monticola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004 e.T46294A11042992. IUCN. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T46294A11042992.en .
2. "Amesiella monticola". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 20 February 2022.
3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 260, 348. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
4. Teoh E.S. (2021) Amesiella Schltr. ex Garay. In: Orchid Species from Himalaya and Southeast Asia Vol. 1 (A - E). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58872-4_9
5. Eur. J. Entomol. 112(2): 393–397, 2015 doi: 10.14411/eje.2015.031 ISSN 1210-5759 (print), 1802-8829 (online)
6. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 6: Epidendroideae (Part 3) Alec M. Pridgeon / Phillip J. Cribb / Mark W. Chase / Finn N. Rasmussen 2014 OUP Oxford ISBN 978-0-19-100389-9
7. "Amesiella monticola". The Encyclopedia of Life .