Sotoa is a genus of orchid, a relatively new genus described in 2010. It is native to western Texas and to Mexico as far south as Oaxaca. Only one species is known, Sotoa confusa.[1][2][3]

Sotoa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Subtribe: Spiranthinae
Genus: Sotoa
Salazar
Species:
S. confusa
Binomial name
Sotoa confusa
(Garay) Salazar
Synonyms[1]
  • Deiregyne confusa Garay
  • Funkiella durangensis subsp. confusa (Garay) Szlach.
  • Spiranthes confusa (Garay) Kartesz & Gandhi
  • Schiedeella confusa (Garay) Espejo & López-Ferr.
  • Funkiella confusa (Garay) Szlach.

Sotoa confusa is very rare in Texas. It was collected in 1931 in the Chisos Mountains inside Big Bend National Park, the specimens at the time misidentified as Spiranthes durangensis (now a synonym of Schiedeella saltensis).[4] The material was not recognized as a distinct taxon until years later.[3] It was not until 2008 that a live population was discovered.[5]

See also edit

References edit