Meliorchis caribea is an extinct, early to middle Miocene orchid known only from a packet of pollen attached to the wing of a stingless bee, Proplebeia dominicana, trapped in Dominican amber. It was the first fossil orchid ever described, and allowed for a revised estimate of the time of origin of the Orchidaceae to the Mesozoic.[1] Morphology of the pollinium suggests that M. caribea is closely related to the modern genus Ligeophila.

Meliorchis
Temporal range: 15–20 Ma
Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Subtribe: Goodyerinae
Genus: Meliorchis
S.R.Ramírez, Gravend., R.B.Singer,. C.R.Marshall & N.E.Pierce
Species:
M. caribea
Binomial name
Meliorchis caribea
S.R.Ramírez, Gravend., R.B.Singer,. C.R.Marshall & N.E.Pierce

References

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  1. ^ Santiago R. Ramírez; Barbara Gravendeel; Rodrigo B. Singer; Charles R. Marshall; Naomi E. Pierce (30 August 2007). "Dating the origin of the Orchidaceae from a fossil orchid with its pollinator". Nature. 448 (7157): 1042–5. Bibcode:2007Natur.448.1042R. doi:10.1038/nature06039. PMID 17728756. S2CID 4402181.