Guwahati: A team of botanists has described a striking new species of shrub from the high-altitude slopes of Arunachal Pradesh that sets a global record for ovule count in its genus. Named Berberis myriovula, the plant was found at altitudes ranging from 3700 m to 4000 metres in the Bangajaan area of Tawang district.
Published in the latest issue of the journal Taiwania, the paper highlights the species as remarkable not just for being new to science, but for pushing the reproductive boundaries of its genus.
The team behind the discovery includes researchers from CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST), Jorhat, Bholanath College, Dhubri, and the UK-based taxonomist Julian Harber. Their work is part of a broader research initiative supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
“The ovary of this new species contains 15–17 ovules, the highest count recorded so far in the genus Berberis,” write the authors Bipankar Hajong, Julian Harber, and Pankaj Bharali.
Belonging to the family Berberidaceae, the genus Berberis is the largest within the family and likely contains between 400 and 500 species, most of which are native to Asia. Arunachal Pradesh, especially the Tawang and West Kameng districts, is emerging as a hotspot for deciduous Berberis species, according to ongoing field surveys by the team.
“One of the areas of Asia where there is still much to be learnt about Berberis stretches from west Bhutan, across Arunachal Pradesh in India, to the border with Myanmar,” the authors noted in an earlier 2024 paper.
Berberis myriovula was discovered during one of these surveys, part of an ongoing effort to document unrecognised species in this underexplored region. It is closely allied to Berberis setifolia — a species the same team recently reclassified — but differs in a number of key characteristics, especially its unprecedented ovule count.
Ovules are internal structures inside a flower’s ovary that develop into seeds after fertilization. Typically, Berberis species bear just a few ovules, and high ovule numbers are considered exceptional. A 2020 review by Harber had noted that “the ovary [in Berberis] contains one to 15 ovules,” with such large numbers mostly confined to species from Tibet. Even within that context, the new species is extraordinary.
“Of the six species with 10 or more ovules listed above, the two with the highest number of ovules are B. calliantha and B. tsangpoensis (both up to 15). Our new species B. myriovula which has up to 17 ovules would therefore appear to be unique.”
Only a single colony comprising four plants has been found so far, raising concerns about its vulnerability. The authors report that “a colony of four plants was found at ca. 3925 m, adjacent to a very disturbed road in a sub-alpine area populated by Rhododendron sp., Meconopsis sp., and Rosa sp.”
Due to the lack of comprehensive population data, Berberis myriovula has been preliminarily categorized as Data Deficient under the IUCN guidelines. However, the authors caution that “unless there are other colonies elsewhere the species would appear to be highly vulnerable.”
This discovery underscores the importance of detailed botanical surveys in biodiversity-rich but ecologically fragile frontier regions. As roads and infrastructure projects expand into the higher Himalayas, so too must efforts to document and protect the rare flora that quietly thrive there.
Also Read: Guwahati has space for only 14 leopards: Even that’s shrinking