† Meliorchis caribea Temporal range: 15 Ma Miocene |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
Tribe: | Cranichideae |
Subtribe: | Goodyerinae |
Genus: | Meliorchis |
Species: | † M. caribea |
Binomial name | |
Meliorchis caribea |
Meliorchis caribea is an extinct, early to middle Miocene orchid known only from a packet of pollen attached to the wing of a stingless bee, Proplebeia dominicana, trapped in Dominican amber. It was the first fossil orchid ever described, and allowed for a revised estimate of the time of origin of the Orchidaceae to the Mesozoic. Morphology of the pollinium shows that M. caribea is closely related to the modern genus Ligeophila.