Ophiorrhiza mizoramensis is a newly discovered species of flowering shrub belonging to the Rubiaceae (coffee) family. The plant was identified in Murlen National Park in Mizoram, close to the Indo-Myanmar border, a region known for high floral diversity and endemism.
The discovery adds to India’s growing list of endemic plant species and highlights the ecological significance of protected forests in Northeast India, especially in transboundary biodiversity hotspots.
Key Details of Ophiorrhiza mizoramensis
- Discovery Location: Murlen National Park, near the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram, India.
- Found in: Murlen National Park, Mizoram, near the Indo-Myanmar border.
- Features: It grows up to one meter high and produces striking dark purplish-pink tubular flowers with uniquely structured stigma lobes.
- Physical Characteristics:
- Flowers: Dark purplish-pink tubular flowers (up to long).
- Leaves: Possesses 10–19 pairs of lateral leaf veins and petioles up to long.
- Stipules: Persistent and ovate in shape.
- Stigma: Oblanceolate, measuring about in length.
Significance: Provisionally assessed as “Critically Endangered,” with fewer than 200 mature individuals found in the wild.
