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New leafless orchid Gastrodia keyiensis discovered in Arunachal Pradesh
Scientists discover a new species of rare, leafless orchid, Gastrodia keyiensis, in the Keyi Panyor district of Arunachal Pradesh. The species is recorded in a shaded gorge along the right bank of the Keyi River at about 1,000 m altitude and is locally called “Oram Opuh” (“Ghost Flower”) in the Nyishi dialect.
Gastrodia keyiensis:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Micro-habitat | The species grows under deep shade amid thick layers of decaying leaf litter within moist bamboo groves. |
| Nutrition and life strategy | The species is holomycotrophic (mycoheterotrophic), completely lacks chlorophyll and functional leaves, and is incapable of photosynthesis. |
| Fungal association | The species obtains organic carbon, water, and mineral nutrients via obligate parasitic/symbiotic associations with subterranean soil fungi. |
| Morphology | The plant reaches up to 35 cm in height and bears 1 to 3 flowers per stalk. |
| Flower characters | The flowers exhibit a white to pale-bluish hue with a strongly curved yellow apex on the labellum (lip). |
| Diagnostic labellum features | The labellum comprises a broadly obovate basal section marked by 6 to 7 prominent, longitudinally thickened ridge structures. |
| Life cycle | The species spends nearly its entire life cycle as an underground rhizome and emerges briefly during a short flowering phase. |
| IUCN conservation status | The species is assessed as Data Deficient (DD) due to lack of exhaustive population surveys and its highly elusive nature. |
| Recorded occupancy and individuals | The currently recorded Area of Occupancy (AOO) is estimated at 4 km2, and 5 flowering individuals are documented at the type locality. |
| Orchid hotspot data | Arunachal Pradesh comprises over 600 documented orchid species, about 50% of India’s total orchid flora. |
| Ecological baseline | The finding underlines vulnerability of Eastern Himalayan bamboo-grove ecosystems to localized habitat fragmentation and road construction. |