Dec. 27, 2012 Researchers from the University of Vigo, in
collaboration with the Environmental Services Unit at the
Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (Cuba), have discovered two
new species of Caribbean orchid. The Caribbean islands have been
natural laboratories and a source of inspiration for biologists
for over two centuries now. Suffice to say that the studies by
Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the tropical
archipelagos contributed to the emergence of the theory of
evolution. In this case, a Spanish research team from the
University of Vigo has discovered two new species belonging to
the orchid family (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) in Cuba. They have
been called Tetramicra riparia and Encyclia navarroi. The two
plants were found in the eastern and western zones of the island
respectively. "The first species described, Encyclia navarroi,
is an orchid with considerably large flowers. A year later we
discovered the Tetramicra riparia species, with very small
flowers. The latter is so named because it