Rare plant rediscovered in Sarawak

Natural wonder: This image of the fairy lantern, published in ‘Phytotaxa’ journal, is one of the first available photographs of the species.

KUCHING: Not only is it tiny and peculiar looking, this plant is so rare that it has only been spotted twice in 151 years.

The thismia neptunis, or better known as fairy lantern, was disco­vered by Czech researchers in Sarawak’s western region alongside a river at the Matang Massif last year.