Guwahati: A tiny, elusive orchid that spends much of its life hidden beneath the forest floor has been formally recognised as a new species from Arunachal Pradesh, adding another rare plant to the biodiversity of the Eastern Himalaya.
Named Gastrodia keyiensis, the new orchid was discovered during a botanical survey in a remote river gorge along the Keyi River in Keyi Panyor district.
The species was formally described in a paper published in Phytotaxa.
The study was authored by Madhusudhan Khanal, Dipankar Borah, Shuvadip Sarkar, Neelam Gap, Santosh Kumar Rai and Devendra Kumar, affiliated with the G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Sikkim University, Kaliabor College, the Botanical Survey of India and the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union.
The orchid has been given the local Nyishi name “Oram Opuh”, meaning “Ghost Flower”—an apt name for a plant that is difficult to spot and remains underground for much of its life. The species was found growing in deep shade, on thick layers of decaying leaf litter along riverbanks and within bamboo groves.
Unlike most familiar orchids, Gastrodia keyiensis has no leaves and does not rely on sunlight to produce its food. It is a holomycotrophic orchid, obtaining nutrients through associations with fungi in the soil. Members of the Gastrodia genus typically inhabit dark, humid forest understories and can remain underground for years before emerging to flower.
The newly described species can grow up to about 35 cm tall and bears one to three flowers. Its flowers are white to pale bluish, with a distinctive yellow, strongly curved apical part of the labellum.
Researchers found several features separating it from its closest relative, Gastrodia putaoensis, including six to seven prominent longitudinal ridges on the labellum.
The species was collected from bamboo groves on the right bank of the Keyi River at an elevation of about 1,000 metres. Researchers encountered five flowering individuals at the type locality and collected specimens for detailed morphological examination and herbarium preservation.
The specific name “keyiensis” refers to the Keyi River, the prominent river flowing through Keyi Panyor and the locality from where the species was discovered.
The orchid is currently known only from Arunachal Pradesh and has been classified as Data Deficient (DD) rather than threatened.
The researchers said its true population size and distribution cannot yet be established because Gastrodia species are notoriously difficult to detect, with short flowering periods, cryptic appearances and long periods spent underground.
The species currently has a known Area of Occupancy of approximately 4 sq km, based on its single recorded site. The authors have called for further field surveys, long-term population monitoring and ecological studies to determine its distribution, abundance and conservation needs.
The discovery adds to the growing list of Gastrodia species documented from India and underscores the continuing potential of Arunachal Pradesh’s forests to yield previously undocumented plant diversity.
For a plant that can spend years hidden beneath leaf litter before briefly appearing as a flower, Gastrodia keyiensis is a reminder that some of the Eastern Himalaya’s most remarkable discoveries may be hiding in plain sight—or, in this case, beneath the forest floor.