New species of African violets found in Mizoram

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A new species of plant belonging to the family of African violets has been found by the researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal.

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The species has been found at Mizoram is the popular choice herbariums and green-houses across the world.

Recently the species was documented in the peer-reviewed journal Systematic Botany (published by American Society for Plant Taxonomists), nearly four years after it was first observed in the field.

Researchers have also claimed the presence of the same species in adjacent Myanmar, and also in parts of China.

The species is owned by the genus ‘Didymocarpus’, belonging to the plant family Gesneriaceae, popularly known as African Violets.

Out of 106 currently known species of this genus, 26 are present in the North-Eastern states of India. The species is found only on three places in Mizoram and can be included in endangered species by International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The findings are based on in situ and ex situ studies (including molecular phylogenetic analyses with similar African Violet species from other herbariums across the world), are part of a larger study extensively documents the genus Didymocarpus in India. This will help researchers to better recognize the plant’s growing traits needed to live in this country (as opposed to China, Japan, African countries and South American countries, where it is also broadly spread).