Leonardo Co and Mycaranthes leonardoi
In late 2008, botanist Ulysses Ferreras approached and asked me if I could assist him in describing two orchid species that he found, with a very special request: that one of the two will be named after Leonardo Co. The orchids in question were from two genera, Mycaranthes and Robiquetia , and Uly suggested that the latter bear Leonard's name. I expressed disagreement, arguing that doing so would rob the orchid of identity because it will then carry the name of two persons- an idiosyncrasy on my part, I must admit. So we ended up with the combination of ' Mycaranthes leonardoi ', with the Robiquetia bestowed with the name of ' Robiquetia enigma '. At this point, I would like to draw attention to the fact that during my active years in orchidology, I have made it a matter of principle to keep to a minimum the number of people I would like to honor in my species descriptions, and that these people should have had at least some direct involvement in these species. Leo...