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Globba andersonii: Rediscovered Plant Species

  • 02 Jul 2020
  • 2 min read

Why in News

A team of researchers have “rediscovered” a rare plant species called Globba andersonii from the Sikkim Himalayas.

  • The species has been found near the Teesta river valley region after a gap of nearly 136 years.
    • The earliest records of the collection of this plant were dated between the period 1862-70 by Scottish botanist Thomas Anderson from Sikkim and Darjeeling. Then, in 1875, the British botanist Sir George King, had collected it from the Sikkim Himalayas.

Key Points

  • Features:
    • The plant, known commonly as ‘dancing ladies’ or ‘swan flowers’ was thought to have been extinct until its “re-collection”, for the first time since 1875.
    • Globba andersonii are characterised by white flowers and non-attached anthers (the part of a stamen that contains the pollen).
    • The species has been listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  • Habitat:
    • It is also termed as “narrowly endemic” as the species is restricted mainly to the Teesta River Valley region which includes the Sikkim Himalayas and Darjeeling hill ranges.
    • The plant usually grows in a dense colony as a lithophyte (plant growing on a bare rock or stone) on rocky slopes in the outskirts of evergreen forests.
    • It is especially prevalent near small waterfalls along the roadside leading to these hill forests, which are 400-800 m. above sea level.

Source:TH

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