ABSTRACT
The rediscovery of Octomeria leptophylla, an endemic micro-orchid from Minas Gerais, Brazil thought to be extinct is presented. In 1877, João Barbosa Rodrigues described O. leptophylla based on a collection from "Serra de Caldas" (Municipality of Caldas), south of Minas Gerais. Since then, no other records were made either by herbarium botanists or private collector, and the species has been treated as extinct. During recent field expeditions to the region where the type was collected, 127 years after its description, populations of O. leptophylla were located at the municipalities of Andradas and Poços de Caldas. Unfortunately, the rediscovery does not mean that the species is out of danger risks from habitat loss and its restricted endemism place it as Critically Endangered according to the criteria of the IUCN.
Key-words:
conservation; atlantic forest; local extinction; microendemism; taxonomy