Rare "Lipstick Plant" Rediscovered In Arunachal Pradesh After 100 Years

Researchers at Botanical Survey of India have rediscovered a rare plant from a remote district of Anjaw in Arunachal Pradesh which is often called the "Lipstick Plant" (Aeschynanthus monetaria Dunn).

It was first identified by British botanist Stephen Troyte Dunn in 1912 based on plant samples collected in Arunachal Pradesh by another English botanist, Isaac Henry Burkill, according to PTI.

"Some of the species in the genus Aeschynanthus are known as lipstick plants because of their tubular red corollas," said BSI scientist Krishna Chowlu in an article published in the journal Current Science on the discovery.

According to the journal, Aeschynanthus Jack (Gesne-riaceae), an epiphytic evergreen tropical Asian genus with 174 species, is found mostly from southern China to tropical Asia. Twenty-six taxa represent the plant's genus in India.

A rigorous examination of the fresh samples, as well as a review of the pertinent records, showed that they were Aeschynanthus monetaria, a species that had not been collected from India since Burkill in 1912. The genus name Aeschynanthus is derived from the Greek aischyne or aischyn, which means shame or embarrassment, and anthos, which means flower, according to the article.

The fleshy orbicular leaves of Aeschynanthus monetaria Dunn are morphologically distinctive and unique among other Aeschynanthus species known from India, with a greenish top surface and a purplish-green below surface. The term monetaria in its name refers to the appearance of the plant's leaves, which are mint-like.

There have been lots of rediscoveries of various species in Arunachal which speaks of the rich biodiversity of the state, but experts say that more dedicated explorations are needed to unravel more, according to Chowlu.