Researchers from Kerala have identified a new plant variety belonging to the coffee family from Arunachal Pradesh and also recorded the presence of a plant so far thought endemic to China in the northeastern State.
The findings by M. Sabu, CSIR-Emeritus Scientist, and V.S. Hareesh, Research Associate, of the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, Kozhikode, have been published in Adansonia, the international journal published by the French Museum of Natural History, Paris.
Of coffee family
The new variety was spotted in Shi-Yomi district and named Ophiorrhiza medogensis var. shiyomiense after the region to which it is endemic. A close relative, Ophiorrhiza medogensis which was discovered in Dibang Valley district, is being recorded in India for the first time, Prof. Sabu said. They belong to the coffee family, Rubiaceae.
Both plants were collected from the interior regions of Arunachal Pradesh during a botanical survey. Though bearing close resemblances, they differ strongly in floral characteristics and colour, he said.
Ophiorrhiza medogensis var. shiyomiense is a small plant growing to a height of 20-50 cm. It has a branched stem with a woody base and pale yellow flowers with green tinges. The plant was found growing in moist, sloped areas at an altitude varying from 1,100 to 1,200 m.
So far from Tibet
Prof. Sabu and Dr. Hareesh recorded the presence of Ophiorrhiza medogensis, a Himalayan species which was known so far only from Medog, Tibet, and first described by H. Li in 1980. In Arunachal Pradesh, it was found growing at heights of 1,100 to 1,700 m, near Mayodia, Dibang Valley district. Ophiorrhiza medogensis grows to a height of about 20-60 cm and has a branched stem. The flowers are white or white with pale pink on the base of corolla tubes.
''The present collection from Mayodia of Arunachal Pradesh of India is the extended distributional record of this taxon to the flora of India,'' the article in Adansonia noted.
