Botanists had an immense surprise to find out that a foul smelling plant found only in the Yosemite Park area is actually a new type of orchid, despite the fact that it has been observed there for more than 84 years.

The first recorded “encounter” with the plant happened in 1932, but until recently scientists had no idea that they were dealing with a totally new species.

As it usually happens in science, it is the hazard rather than organized effort that makes great discoveries possible: botanist Alison Colwell was distracted by the foul smell the flower emanates to attract pollinators. "I was out surveying clovers one afternoon, and I started smelling something. I was like, 'Eew, what's that?'" said Colwell, who works for the U.S. Geological Survey in El Portal. "It smelled like a horse corral on a hot afternoon."

Alison Colwell (credited with the discovery along with other two botanists) is convinced that Yosemite Valley’s meadows, which have never frozen under the glacial cover, are the cause for the thriving of endemic plants like Yosemite onion, Yosemite woolly sunflower and Bolander's clover.

The plant, which is the only known orchid species endemic to California's Sierra Nevada range, grows in spring-fed areas between 6,000 and 9,000 feet, Colwell said. All nine sites where the orchid has been spotted are in the park, some adjacent to areas popular among visitors, according to an article announcing the species' discovery published in Madrono, a journal of the California Botanical Society.

The Yosemite bog-orchid's scientific name will from now on be Platanthera yosemitensis.

"The extreme small size of several of the populations puts them at risk of extirpation," said Dr. Niki Nicholas, Chief of Resources Management and Science at Yosemite. "Sensitive habitat as well as a delicate root system highlights conservation issues associated with this species."