The Japanese islands are home to a rich flora. However, it is interesting that biologists have been able to describe a new plant genus for the island for the first time: Relictetheismia chymotsukiensis He managed to evade investigations until 2022. Then amateur botanist Yasunori Nakamura discovered the small plant in the Kimotsuki Mountains on Kyushu Island, which he and a team led by Kenji Sutsugu of Kobe University described in the “Journal of Plant Research.”
The fact that the plant has been able to evade research for so long is due to its special lifestyle: it grows mainly underground and only pushes a flower – in this case a very inconspicuous flower – to the surface once a year for a few days. Which is also usually covered in fallen leaves. Relictetheismia chymotsukiensis It belongs to a family of plants called fairy lanterns in German because they are very small and bloom secretly.
Like its relatives, the newly described species does not produce chlorophyll and therefore does not photosynthesize. Instead, it pecks and feeds on the underground mycelium of the fungus. It pushes young flowers out of the ground just to reproduce.
“Alcohol buff. Troublemaker. Introvert. Student. Social media lover. Web ninja. Bacon fan. Reader.”
More Stories
Entomologists discover a long-extinct wasp | Sciences
Skin rash after eating asparagus? What could be behind it?
Warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease: Researchers find new evidence