Guwahati: A rare flowering plant found in the remote forests of Arunachal Pradesh has been identified as a new species, adding to India’s botanical diversity and extending the known western distribution of the genus Disporopsis into the country.
Named Disporopsis crispata, the newly described species was discovered in Vijoynagar, Changlang district, at an altitude of around 2,500 metres. The finding has been published in the latest issue of the international botanical journal Phytotaxa.
The discovery is significant because the genus Disporopsis, comprising around 12 known species, was previously recorded mainly in Myanmar, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. The finding in Arunachal Pradesh marks its westernmost known extension into India.
The research paper was authored by Aaron Floden, Vinay Kumar Sahani, Kate E. Armstrong, Colin Pendry and Krishna Chowlu, with the researchers associated with the Missouri Botanical Garden, Botanical Survey of India, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and New York Botanical Garden.
The plant was collected by Vinay Kumar Sahani in June 2026 during a botanical exploration in Vijoynagar. Its distinctive appearance and flowering characteristics helped researchers establish that it was a previously undescribed species.
Interestingly, the plant had been encountered in Myanmar decades earlier but was initially mistaken for another genus, Polygonatum. A specimen collected in 1962 from the Kachin Hills of Myanmar had attracted the attention of researchers. However, the absence of flowers meant that its identity could not be conclusively established at the time.
The recent collection from Arunachal Pradesh, which included flowering material, provided the evidence needed to describe it as a new species.
What makes the plant different?
Disporopsis crispata is distinguished by its strongly wavy, crinkled leaf margins, reddish stems and white-and-green flowers.
Its stems grow between 30 and 80 cm tall, while its lance-shaped leaves measure 5–15 cm in length. The plant produces fleshy white fruits containing three to eight seeds.
Researchers named the species crispata in reference to the distinctive crinkled or undulating edges of its leaves.
It grows on damp slopes in temperate forests dominated by mixed rhododendron and bamboo vegetation, at elevations of 2,500–2,800 metres.
The plant flowers between May and June, while fruiting has been recorded from July to December.
Conservation concerns
While the discovery adds to the botanical importance of Arunachal Pradesh, researchers have raised concerns about the species’ limited known population.
The study found a single population comprising fewer than five individuals in India. Another historical collection exists from Myanmar, approximately 65 km to the south.
However, researchers believe the surrounding mountainous landscape contains extensive potential habitat that remains unexplored.
Given the limited information available, the researchers have recommended placing the species under the IUCN category of Data Deficient (DD). This classification indicates that there is insufficient information to make a reliable assessment of its extinction risk.
The discovery also highlights the botanical significance of the mountainous landscape stretching across eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar’s Kachin State and China’s Yunnan province.
According to the researchers, the region represents a meeting point of three major biodiversity hotspots: the Eastern Himalaya, Indo-Burma and Mountains of Southwest China.
They also acknowledged the assistance of local communities in Vijoynagar, particularly members of the Yobin and Gorkha communities, during the research.
The finding underscores how much remains undocumented in the remote forests of Northeast India, where botanical exploration continues to reveal species previously unknown to science.