CH Dominica: Detecting fossils of ancient orchids

American researchers have discovered ancient orchid fossils adhering to a queen bee in a piece of amber in CH Dominica. This rare and precious piece of amber, dating from 15 to 20 million years, was found in 2000 in an eastern Santiago mine.

The author, Santiago Ramirez of Harvard University and his colleagues named the exotic flower Meliorchis caribea and identified the bee from the Proplebeia dominicana with its nontrivial character.

The evolution of orchids so far is unknown. The researchers hope that the discovery will help them recreate the genetically generated plants of orchids. So far, people know about 25,000 orchid varieties.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that the last common ancestor of today's orchids grew 76 to 84 million years ago.

(Photo: Santiago Ramirez / Reuters / Theglobeandmai)

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