IISER Bhopal scientists discover African violet, an endangered plant species in Mizoram

The Institute scientists performed and fieldwork and study under past collections of African violet across the pearl and found the new species in Indias Mizoram.

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal has discovered a new species of plant. This new species of African violet is found in parts of Mizoram and adjacent areas in Myanmar. The recent discovery of the Indian Institute of Science education and research has given a platform for the northeast in biodiversity and how it is understudied and undiscovered.

The Institute scientists performed and fieldwork and study under past collections of African violet across the pearl and found the new species in Indias Mizoram.The discovery is done under the Tropical Ecology and Evolution Lab, a unit of IISER.

 Dr. Vinita Gowda, department of biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal mentions, " North East India is home to highly diverse Flora because of its unique biography placement as part of two biodiversity Hotspots: the Indo Burma Hotspot and the Eastern Himalayas."

The Professor further added,  "this is science in its finest form a field of Investigation that seeks knowledge and death because form and there is much to learn in the wonders of nature."The new Discovery by the Institute of science education and research been published in the journal 'Systematic botany', a document published by the American Society for plant taxonomist.

IISER Bhopal, the team described the new species as "Didymocarpus Vickifunkiae" which is currently found in only three locations in Mizoram and is considered as an endangered species. The tropical Ecology and evolution lab at IISER specializes in studying Ecology and Biodiversity in the tropics and this is the third new species discovered by this lab in India. IISER Bhopal is the youngest of the first five IISERs established by the Ministry of Education (then Ministry of Human Resource & Development), Government of India, in 2008. The Institute has also been ranked 26 (National Rank, out of 63 in the 1000 Institutes) in the Times Higher Education 2021 Rankings.

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