Orchidaceae

Orchids are identified by a consistent floral architecture: three sepals, three petals (with the median petal modified into a lip or labellum, usually held lowest), and a fused column that combines the stamen and stigma. In La Honda most species are epiphytic — growing on tree branches without parasitising their hosts — though some, including reed-stem Epidendrum species, also colonise pasture edges and disturbed slopes as terrestrials.

Conservation concern varies widely. All orchid species are listed under CITES (most under Appendix II, the strictest cases under Appendix I), and many have been formally assessed by the IUCN as threatened by decades of wild collection and habitat loss. Closer to La Honda, many of the smaller Pleurothallidinae — including Lepanthes, the genus most documented in this project — are locally encountered but globally poorly known, with some species recorded from only a single locality.