A new species of Vanilla flower was discovered in Costa Rica in the country of Corredores in the South Zone of Costa Rica, close to the Panama frontier; the flower was named Vanilla-karen-chistianae in honor of Costa Rican scientist Christiana Figueres Olsen.
The discovery was made by Patricia Lehmann Calderon, student of Management of Natural Resources of the UNED who worked alongside investigator Adam P. Karremans of the Lankester Botanical Garden.
“Vanilla karen-christianae was found in a region of the country that has no protected areas and very little original forest cover. The unexpected discovery highlights the importance of continued and sustainable conservation efforts across all life zones and ecoregions, underlining the importance of the public sector in biodiversity research and protection. The new species belongs to subgenus Xanata, which includes all the fragrant Vanilla species used in commerce. Vanilla karen-christianae is easily distinguished from all other Central American species by the combination of very narrow leaves, with a recurved apex, the green-and-white flowers and the appendages on the lip, a feature found otherwise only in the closely related Vanilla helleri, Vanilla insignis and Vanilla odorata”, states the report by Researchgate.net.
Vanilla is a genre of 110 species and it belongs to the family Orchidaceae that encompasses over 30 thousand species worldwide.
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