Dr. John Atwood of Selby Botanical Gardens is beginning the first phase of a projected six-year project to catalogue the estimated 1400 species of orchids of Costa Rica. The first years will emphasize field collecting in three poorly sampled regions of the country along with compilation of a genus-level inventory with identification keys and brief descriptions of morphology and habitat. Further work will involve study of herbarium specimens in major collections in the U.S. and Europe in order to determine species-level characters for recognition and identification, to prepare illustrations, map geographical distributions, and compile observations on habitat and ecology. The taxonomic inventory of the orchids will be the largest major treatment for the on-going Flora Costaricensis project. More biological field research is taking place in Costa Rica than in any other tropical country. The need for critical taxonomic information of use to ecologists and other biologists, resource managers, park officials, and interested citizens is great. This project will provide information on the single largest family of flowering plants in Costa Rica, many of whose species are of interest to conservationists and others concerned with rational stewardship of natural biotic resources.
