The "Aha!" moment of species discovery does not always happen immediately or in the field. Donald D Dod collected an orchid in the mid-1980s from the Massif de la Hotte, Haiti, that DNA evidence suggested was closely related to Ornithidium coccineum, but for which its precise status remained unresolved.
After being in cultivation for more than a decade, the plant finally produced flowers in May 2009, allowing botanists to assess its significance fully. It has now been described as a new species, Ornithidium donaldeedodii, named in honour of Dod who lived to be 95, but not long enough to see the species named.
Quentin Wheeler is director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, Arizona State University
