🏮Thismia kobensis, a tiny, non-photosynthetic “fairy lantern”, was rediscovered in Hyogo Prefecture roughly 30 km from the site where it was first recorded in 1992.
Its original habitat was lost to industrial development, and the species had been presumed extinct.
This elusive plant spends most of its life underground and obtains nutrients through its association with fungi rather than photosynthesis.
Its rediscovery also helps clarify the evolutionary history of Thismia, including a possible close relationship with the long-lost North American species Thismia americana.
A hopeful find and also a conservation reminder: species can persist out of sight…and protecting the places where they survive matters as much as documenting them.
Reference: KENJI SUETSUGU, KOHEI YAMANA, HIDEHITO OKADA. Rediscovery of the presumably extinct fairy lantern Thismia kobensis (Thismiaceae) in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, with discussions on its taxonomy, evolutionary history, and conservation. Phytotaxa, 2023; 585 (2)