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Botanists in Thailand have identified a new-to-science species of \u201cfairy lantern\u201d \u2014 plants that live almost entirely buried under leaf litter, emerging aboveground only occasionally to flower.<\/p>\n
Researchers were surveying evergreen forests in the mountains of Thong Pha Phum National Park when they chanced upon a plant none of them had ever seen before, at an elevation of almost 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet).<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve since named it Thismia daemona<\/em>, according to a recent study<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Like other plants within the Thismia<\/em> genus, commonly referred to as fairy lanterns<\/a><\/span>, T. daemona<\/em> lacks chlorophyll, meaning it can\u2019t photosynthesize. Instead, it spends much of its life hidden from view under leaf litter, deriving all its nutrients from soil fungi, the study authors reported.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding Thismia daemona <\/em>in Thong Pha Phum National Park was indeed a major surprise,\u201d study co-author Sahut Chantanaorrapint of Thailand\u2019s Prince of Songkla University said in a press release<\/a><\/span>. \u201cTypically, Thismia<\/em> species are known to occur in perennially humid lowland rainforests, however, this population was discovered in a seasonal, montane evergreen forest at an elevation of nearly 1,000 meters above sea level.\u201d<\/p>\n T. daemona <\/em>has a dramatic, \u201cdevil-like\u201d appearance, the authors write \u2014 hence the name they chose for it. Its flower features a blackish floral tube crowned with dark, horn-like appendages and vivid reddish-orange outer petals near its base.<\/p>\n \u201cCombined with its hidden, subterranean and mysterious lifestyle on the forest floor, our team unanimously agreed that naming it Thismia daemona <\/em>perfectly captured its enigmatic and devil-like essence,\u201d Chantanaorrapint said.<\/p>\n Despite its recent discovery, the species\u2019 future is precarious. T. daemona <\/em>is currently only known from a single site within Thong Pha Phum National Park, with a population numbering fewer than 50 individuals confined to an area smaller than about 5 hectares (12 acres).<\/p>\n This sole known habitat also sits along trails regularly traversed by tourists, posing a threat of habitat disturbance, the authors write.<\/p>\n Based on the IUCN Red List criteria, they\u2019ve provisionally classified T. daemona<\/em> as critically endangered.<\/p>\n Chantanaorrapint said in the press release that inspiring local people to take pride in their natural heritage would both safeguard the plant\u2019s microhabitat and \u201csupport sustainable, community led ecotourism.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image:<\/em><\/strong> Thismia daemona in its natural habitat. Image by <\/em>Sahut Chantanaorrapint<\/em><\/a> (<\/em>CC BY 4.0<\/em><\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n
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