Rare orchid grows under Kew's nose

They have spent years scouring exotic locations like Madagascar and Borneo for new species of orchids.

However, Kew Gardens botanists admit their latest discovery was in one of their own greenhouses.

The 6ft-high plant had been growing on a public information board in an exhibit for 13 years without the experts realising it was a new species.

They have named it aeranthis virginalis, because its overlapping petals look like a woman's crossed legs.

"The biggest problem is that orchids can only be identified when they are flowering - otherwise one green leaf looks pretty much like another," said Dr David Roberts, Kew's orchid expert and the man who discovered their oversight.

"When we received the plant as seeds it was incorrectly identified, so it took us a while to get round to checking whether it was actually what we were told it was."

The new orchid, with large translucent green flowers, is now housed in Kew's display. "We think we may have found more of them in Madagascar, so we know where they come from now," said Dr Roberts.

Kew's Orchids Exposed exhibition opens tomorrow.