Luquillo Mountain Babyboot Orchid (Lepanthes eltoroensis)

Lepanthes eltoroensis flower Photo Credit: Tremblay, R.L.

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Orchidaceae
State: PR
Nature Serve ID: 139326
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Categories of Interest: Orchids
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

Lepanthes eltoroensis is a small, epiphytic orchid that grows on moss-covered tree trunks. It only grows to be about 4cm tall. The flowers are reddish. This species was described in 1969 by William Stimson. Before then there was only considered to be one species in the genus Lepanthes, but Stimsons work showed that there were in fact nine species (and eight of them are endemic to Puerto Rico).

Where is Luquillo Mountain Babyboot Orchid (Lepanthes eltoroensis) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Occurs in three montane habitat types: sierra palm, palo colorado and elvin or dwarf forest. Sierra palm forest is limited to steep slopes with poor drainage and saturated soils. It is found at elevations above 450m. Palo colorado is an evergreen forest type, described as an upland swamp, found at elevations greater than 600m. These forests are found on somewhat protected intermediate slopes and valleys, though high winds can occur at times. They do not have high plant diversity. Some of the common species in palo colorado forest are Cyrilla racemiflora (common name palo colorado for which the association is named), Calcyogonium squamulosum, and Micropholis garcinifolia. Elvin or dwarf montane forest occurs on summits and high slopes greater than 750m in elevation. The soils of these forests are water-saturated and therefore oxygen limited. The sites where this forest type is found are often exposed to high winds. The elvin forests are composed of dense stands of short gnarled trees and shrubs that are often covered with mosses and epiphytes. There are about 478 species of plants found in these forests. Some of them are: Calcyogonium squamulosum, Calyptranthes krugii, Miconia foveolata, Ocotea spathulata, and Tabebuia rigida. (USFWS 1993, 1995)

Distribution:

Luquillo Mountains of Eastern Puerto Rico (USFWS 1995)

States & Provinces:

Luquillo Mountain Babyboot Orchid can be found in Puerto Rico

Conservation Actions

09/18/2020

Raymond L. Tremblay identified nine species in the genus Lepanthes and studied gene flow in the genus. He has two publications on Lepanthes: Tremblay, R.L. 1997. Distribution and Dispersion Patterns of Individuals in Nine Species of Lepanthes (Orchidaceae). Biotropica, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 38-45. Tremblay, R.L. and J.D. Ackerman 2001. Gene flow and effective population size in Lepanthes (Orchidaceae): a case for genetic drift. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol 72, pp. 47-62. Additional research was planned for 2002 to study habitat change in the recent increase in population and range.

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Lepanthes eltoroensis is endemic to Puerto Rico, occurring in the Luquillo Mountains (in four municipalities) at 750-1000 meters. The species is an epiphyte or lithophyte in wet forests. Six populations (discrete sites) known, five of which are extant (1996), with a total of less than 400 individuals. Listed as an endangered species under U.S. federal law; in Annex I of the SPAW Protocol of the Cartagena Convention; and in Appendix II of CITES.