First Guatemalan record of natural hybridisation between Neotropical species of the Lady’s Slipper orchid (Orchidaceae, Cypripedioideae)

Abstract

The first natural hybrid in the section Irapeana of the orchid genus Cypripedium is described and illustrated based on Guatemalan material. A molecular evaluation of the discovery is provided. Specimens with intermediate flowers between C. irapeanum and C. dickinsonianum within ITS and Xdh sequences have the signal sequence of both these species. The analysis of plastid sequences indicated that the maternal line is C. irapeanum. Information about the ecology, embryology and conservation status of the novelty is given, together with a distribution map of its parental species, C. irapeanum and C. dickinsonianum. A discussion of the hybridization between Cypripedium species is presented. The potential hybrid zones between the representatives of Cypripedium section Irapeana which were estimated based on the results of ecological niche modeling analysis are located in the Maya Highlands (C. dickinsonianum and C. irapeanum) and the eastern part of Southern Sierra Madre (C. molle and C. irapeanum). Moreover, all three Cypripedium species could inhabit Cordillera Neovolcánica according to the obtained models; however, it should be noticed that this region is well-distanced from the edges of the known geographical range of C. molle.

Hybridization: a ‘double-edged sword’ for Neotropical plant diversity

“…Although the formation of novel hybrid lineages may also be evident in other herbaceous species found in montane Neotropical forests (e.g. in Guatemalan Cypripedium L.; Orchidaceae; Szlachetko et al, 2017), more ecological and genomic work must be undertaken to understand its evolutionary significance.…”

Genetic History of the Remnant Population of the Rare Orchid Cypripedium calceolus Based on Plastid and Nuclear rDNA

“…The question today is whether the diversity of the population from the Russian Far East (gene pool C and H2 haplotype) may be due to the hybridization or to both species sharing an ancient pattern as a consequence of incomplete lineage sorting. Hybridization processes have also been documented in other closely related neotropical species of Cypripedium [ 39 ].…”

Species Phylogeny versus Gene Trees: A Case Study of an Incongruent Data Matrix Based on Paphiopedilum Pfitz. (Orchidaceae)

“…In our analyses, this applied to plastid and nuclear ACO and DEF4 genes. Lack of topology/divergence time conflict among the plastid DNA suggests unidirectional hybridization, which is common in the family Orchidaceae [ 35 ]. If both parental alleles had survived in the gene pool after the hybridization event and were introduced to the populations of the multi-flowered section ancestor, as well as the Barbata and Paphiopedilum sections ancestor, they could have entered different sections randomly during divergence ( Figure 4 b).…”