Reported by Roopak Goswami
Guwahati: Scientists have discovered a new plant species in the forests near Guwahati, a finding that is drawing attention to the hidden biodiversity of the ecologically rich Garbhanga Reserve Forest along the Assam–Meghalaya border.
The newly identified species, named Mycetia assamica, was discovered during botanical surveys in the moist semi-evergreen forests of Garbhanga Reserve Forest and has now been formally described in the international journal Taiwania by researchers Niku Das, Dipankar Borah, Dixit Bora, Sangeeta Deka, Saurav Kumar Boruah and Madhusudhan Khanal.
What makes the discovery particularly significant is that an entirely new flowering plant species was identified close to Guwahati, a rapidly expanding urban region, underscoring how parts of Northeast India continue to remain scientifically underexplored.
Researchers recorded only 17 individuals of the species growing near streams inside the reserve forest, immediately raising conservation concerns.
The study involved researchers from Kaliabor College, Tripura University, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Adarsha Mahavidyalaya, Gauhati University and Sikkim University.
The species belongs to the Rubiaceae family — the same broader plant family that includes coffee.
Scientists said Mycetia assamica resembles some known Mycetia species found across tropical Asia but differs in several important floral and structural characteristics, including its larger bracts, longer corolla tube, pubescent floral structures and distinct inflorescence pattern.
The plant is a woody shrub with yellow-to-white flowers and was found growing alongside species such as Begonia roxburghii, Mussaenda roxburghii and Strobilanthes hamiltoniana, reflecting the rich ecological diversity of the Garbhanga landscape.
Researchers named the species “assamica” to honour Assam’s floristic and biogeographical heritage.
According to the published paper, the species is currently known only from Garbhanga Reserve Forest in Kamrup district near the Assam–Meghalaya boundary.
Although the species has been categorised as “Data Deficient” under IUCN guidelines due to limited information, researchers said more extensive surveys are needed to determine its population size and distribution. They added that similar habitats in adjoining parts of Assam and Meghalaya may also harbour the species.