GUWAHATI: A rare Himalayan plant species believed to have been lost for nearly 188 years has been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh, marking a significant development for biodiversity research and conservation in the Eastern Himalaya.
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The species, Vaccinium piliferum, an endangered wild relative of the blueberry, was found near the Noa-Dihing river in Vijoynagar in Changlang district at an altitude between 1,150 and 1,280 metres.
Researchers said only 16 individual plants have so far been documented in the wild, highlighting the species’ critically limited. The species is listed as “Endangered” on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The plant was first collected in November 1836 by British botanist William Griffith from the Mishmi Hills region of Arunachal Pradesh. No confirmed record of the species had emerged since then, making the rediscovery scientifically important.
The finding underlines the ecological richness of Arunachal Pradesh and the Eastern Himalayan region, which is recognised as one of the world’s major biodiversity hotspots and home to several rare and lesser-known species.