PETALING JAYA: A new species of the fairy lantern plant has been discovered by local researchers in Taman Eko Rimba Sungai Congkak, Selangor.
The fairy lantern or Thismia selangorensis is a distinct mitriform species of the mycoheterotrophic genus Thismia and was first discovered in a tree hole near a riverbank. With less than 20 individuals of the species identified so far, it might be considered critically endangered.
According to PhytoKey, a scientific journal published on a peer-reviewed and open access journal site, co-author and naturalist Tan Gim Siew discovered the species in November 2023.
Tan found the newly identified species growing by the roots of a riverside tree near Taman Eko Rimba, which is a popular picnic area.
The plant, which is roughly 10cm tall, had flowers popping out of the ground that formed what looked like peach-coloured umbrella-like structures called mitres.
It also said the plant has three antennae-like appendages with clubbed ends sticking up from the middle of each mitre.
In an interview with the New York Times, Tan shared that her photos of the then newly discovered plants on citizen science platform iNaturalist caught the attention of study co-author Siti Munirah Mat Yunoh, who is a botanist at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
Siti Munirah, who is also a researcher, said that the species was undocumented.
"This discovery shows that significant scientific finds are not limited to remote jungles; they can also be made in ordinary environments where constant human activity leaves little room for expectation," she was quoted as saying to the New York Times.
After teaming up together, they found that fewer than 20 individuals of the species were distinguished by its unique flowers, coral-shaped roots and other features found near trees and riverbanks.
The species were named T. selangorensis as they were found in Selangor. So far, there are 120 species of fairy lanterns known across the world.
The new plant is also deemed as a "monster" in the biology world as they steal nutrients from subterranean fungi.
This is due to the lack of green chlorophyll needed to make their own food.
As fewer than 20 have been found along the Sungai Congkak riverbank, the plant is also listed under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as provisionally; critically endangered.
