New species of African Violet discovered in Mizoram

Guwahati: Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal have recently discovered a new species of plant belonging to the African Violets family in Mizoram.

Along with other discoveries by the IISER Bhopal Research Team in the past few years, this discovery shows that the biodiversity of the Northeastern parts of India is understudied and there are many species of plants that remain undiscovered.

A group of botanists from IISER, Bhopal discovered the plant from Mizoram and adjacent areas in Myanmar. This discovery is an outcome of extensive fieldwork across the Northeast coupled with a rigorous study of past collections kept in herbariums across the world.