In 2019, researcher and nature guide Mohamad Alias Shakri spotted an unusual plant in a forest in the Malaysian state of Terengganu. The plant grew in proximity to a well-known hiking trail, but it turns out he had discovered a previously undocumented species.
As detailed in a study published Monday in the journal PhytoKeys, the plant is a newly described species in the peculiar Thismia genus, nicknamed the “fairy lantern” for its fantastical appearance. The plant was named Thismia aliasii in honor of Alias Shakri.
“The discovery of Thismia aliasii is very interesting as it was found in a mountainous region known for its natural beauty. The discovery was made on the edge of a popular mountaineering trail, but, remarkably, the species was first recognized by Alias,” reads a statement by Pensoft Publishers, which publishes the journal PhytoKeys. Technology Networks attributes the quote to Siti-Munirah Mat Yunoh, the other author on the study and a research officer at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
The photographs of Thismia aliasii included in the study showcase a strange plant in various shades of orange or yellow, with a bulbous top from which extend petal- or tentacle-like appendages, which are reminiscent of a skinny starfish (if I do say so myself). The enigmatic plant lives in moist, shady regions of upper hill dipterocarp forests (a type of tropical rainforest), according to the researchers.
However, “it was not easy to obtain specimens for further study as its habitat is on the mountain, and COVID time-delayed search efforts,” Mat Yunoh added. In fact, since 2019, researchers have documented a total of only five specimens of Thismia aliasii, despite the fact that the state of Terengganu is “known to be the richest of the Peninsular Malaysian states in the species diversity of Thismia,” the researchers wrote in the study.
The duo blame the region’s popularity as a mountaineering destination for damaging the plant’s habitat. As a result, the species is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
More broadly, Thismia species are mycoheterotrophic—plants that have evolved away from photosynthesis as a form of energy and now rely on a symbiotic relationship with fungi for nutrition, in which Thismia are parasites. Thismia species are often characterized by strange flowers that attract “specialized pollination mechanisms that involve small insects such as fungus gnats,” according to the study.
Ultimately, the discovery highlights that there’s still much left to learn of even Earth’s most trodden corners.
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