Tiny orchid flowers

Scientists say they have just discovered a new plant species. It is a tiny orchid flower with a petal width of only 2.1 mm.

This orchid flower possesses delicate, transparent wings, defined as a species of Platystele - consisting of small sized plants. The discoverer of the new orchid is the American scientist Dr. Lou Jost. The discovery site is the biosphere reserve Cerro Candelarla, east of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Lou Jost told the Daily Mail it was the 60th orchid he discovered during the past decade. In South American countries alone, in the past century, more than 1,000 species of orchids have been discovered and this number will increase when exploring farther lands.