Scientists in Japan have rediscovered an extremely rare species of parasitic “fairy lantern” that was thought to be extinct.
the mysterious plan Thismia kobensis, belongs to a rarely seen genus, which kills fungus. The plants grow underground without photosynthesis, but send out translucent flowers that sprout like ghostly lanterns from the forest floor.
First documented in 1992 in Kobe, Japan, the plant is presumed to have gone extinct when its habitat was destroyed by construction of an industrial complex. Now, three decades later, on a forest trail about 19 miles (30 kilometers) from Kobe, scientists have once again found the waxy, fang-like petals of the rare plant. They described the discovery in the February 27 issue of the journal. phytotaxa.
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“This unexpected finding and subsequent investigations shed new light on this remarkable genus and its evolutionary history,” the researchers said. wrote in a statement.
fairy lanterns (stamia) are ethereal subterranean plants whose only brief eruptions from the ground come in the form of intricate wax-petaled flowers. Without chlorophyll for photosynthesizing energy, plants use a process called mycoheterotrophy to steal nutrients from the fungi that entwine around their roots.
Thismia’s preferred habitats, which are typically tropical rainforests, are facing global decline. Little is known about the elusive plants, and a significant number of the 90 or so identified species have been lost, some for decades, after their initial discoveries.
“Because most mycoheterotrophic plants obtain their carbon indirectly from photosynthetic plants through shared mycorrhizae [fungal and plant] networks, are highly dependent on the activities of both fungi and the trees that support them,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Consequently, they are particularly sensitive to environmental perturbations, often making them rare and sometimes Danger of extinction”.
The rediscovery of T.kobensis makes it the northernmost known Asian fairy lantern species. After studying the otherworldly plant, scientists discovered that its features, such as its distinct petals and lack of nectar glands, make it closely related to the only North American fairy lantern, Thismia americana.
The researchers think T.kobensis is a descendant of American T.which could have crossed from North America to East Asia via the Bering land bridge. American T. it was first found in Chicago in 1912, but has not been seen since 1916.