Guwahati: In a striking reminder of how much of Northeast India’s biodiversity remains hidden in plain sight, scientists have rediscovered a plant species in Assam that had not been seen for nearly 150 years, while also documenting another rare species in the state for the first time.
The findings, published in the Nordic Journal of Botany, come from recent field explorations in the forested hills of Dima Hasao, where researchers Kapil Kumar Kemprai and Souravjyoti Borah recorded the presence of Strobilanthes panichanga — a species not documented in India since the 19th century — along with Strobilanthes parryorum, marking its first confirmed occurrence in Assam.
Calling it a significant rediscovery, the study notes that Strobilanthes panichanga was “collected after almost 150 years”, confirming that the species still survives in the wild despite long gaps in recorded sightings.
The plant was located along a shaded forest stream near Duiring village in Dima Hasao, where it exists in a highly localised population of around 50 mature individuals.
The authors underline the conservation implications, stating that the rediscovery “represents a significant range extension and confirmation of its continued existence”, even as its limited distribution places it firmly in the endangered category.
The second species, Strobilanthes parryorum, adds another layer of importance to the discovery. Previously known from Mizoram, its detection in Dima Hasao, Assam, expands its known range within Northeast India.
The researchers describe it as being confined to “a narrow stretch of rocky stream banks” in the Jinam Valley area, with only 50 to 100 mature plants observed.
Like S. panichanga, it too faces significant threats from habitat disturbance, and the study warns that “the habitat is under severe threat from anthropogenic activities, particularly ongoing excavation for road construction and forest clearance for agriculture”.
The study also highlights the scientific challenges associated with documenting species of Strobilanthes, a genus known for its unpredictable and infrequent flowering cycles. “Species-level identification remains challenging due to the monocarpic nature and infrequent flowering,” the authors note, adding that such traits have led to “frequent taxonomic ambiguities, especially in lesser-explored regions” like Northeast India.
These findings, the researchers emphasise, reinforce the region’s status as a reservoir of undocumented biodiversity.
As they point out, such areas “continue to yield novel taxa and new distributional records”, making field-based exploration crucial for both taxonomy and conservation.
However, the rediscovery also comes with a warning. Both species were found in fragile, moisture-dependent forest microhabitats, making them highly vulnerable to even minor ecological disturbances.
With populations restricted to small stretches of streamside forest, the study calls for urgent conservation attention, including engaging local communities to safeguard these habitats.
In bringing back a species presumed lost and adding another to Assam’s floral records, the study not only fills long-standing gaps in botanical knowledge but also underscores a more urgent message — that some of the region’s rarest species are surviving on the edge, waiting to be noticed before it is too late.
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