USGS Botanists Help Identify a New Orchid, the Yosemite Bog-
Orchid An orchid so elusive, 70 years elapsed after George Henry
Grinnell collected the first specimens in 1923 before a new
generation of botanists rediscovered its location in 1993. But
the plant’s identity remained a challenge to taxonomists. Now,
two U.S. Geological Survey botanists and a colleague at the New
York State Museum have identified the orchid as a new species,
the Yosemite bog-orchid (Platanthera yosemitensis), according to
a recent publication in the journal of the California Botanical
Society, Madroño. "The Yosemite bog-orchid is an example of how
both historic and contemporary plant specimens can serve to
inform scientists and managers about the biological diversity of
natural reserves," said Peggy Moore, a USGS plant ecologist in
El Portal, Calif., and one of the botanists who identified the
orchid. A botanical mystery sparked work by Moore and fellow
USGS botanist Alison Colwell–they had noticed the anomalous
distribution in the p