Previously, there were only two species of orchids known to inhabit the Azores and the discovery of this third butterfly orchid, which was documented by German botanist Karl Hochstetter 173 years ago and never seen again, urgently requires conservation recognition.
The Hochstetter's Butterfly-orchid is threatened by habitat destruction and invasive alien plants.
The Azores is made up of nine volcanic islands in the middle of the northern hemisphere of the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated west of Portugal (around 1,360 kilometers or 850 miles). It is also 1,510 kilometers (940 miles) northwest of Morocco, and about 1,925 km (1,196 mi) southeast of Newfoundland.
The islands were formed through volcanic and seismic activity around 8 million years ago during the Neogene period.
Each of the nine islands have unique and distinct geomorphological characteristics which sets it apart from each other; ranging from Corvo which is a crater formed from a major Plinian eruption to the almost circular Terceira which has one of the largest craters in the region. The largest island is São Miguel which has many large craters and fields of spatter cones.
