Chronicle of a death foretold: <i>Lepanthes nasariana</i> (Orchidaceae, Pleurothallidinae), a newly described high-Andean orchid facing a worst-case climate change scenario.

ABSTRACT: Newly discovered species are increasingly found to be threatened. For some, their formal description may already foretell their extinction, a phenomenon we here term the "Nasar Effect." This phenomenon is inspired by the tragic fate of Santiago Nasar, the protagonist of Gabriel García Márquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold, whose impending death is known to everyone but himself. The Nasar Effect is particularly evident in climate-vulnerable ecosystems, where species may be projected for extinction based on dramatic climate-driven habitat loss. We illustrate the "Nasar Effect" through the description of a new orchid species, Lepanthes nasariana (Lepanthes subsect. Breves), endemic to the cloud forests and páramos of the Western and Central Andes of Colombia, between 2,800 and 3,600

SUBMITTER: Moreno JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12658440 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature