A brand new species and genus of fairy lanterns, small glass-like white plants that feed on coke, has been discovered in Japan. In a rustic known for its extensive plant research, the invention of a brand new plant species is amazingly rare and has not happened in nearly 100 years.
Fairy lanterns, or Thismiaceae as they’re botanically known, are very unusual plants which are found primarily within the tropics but in addition in subtropical and temperate regions. First, they will not be green and don’t engage in photosynthesis, but feed on fungal mycelia in the bottom. As a result, they often hide under fallen leaves and only briefly produce above-ground flowers that appear like glasswork. The Japanese name for one in every of the larger groups of this family is “tanuki-no-shokudai”, which suggests “raccoon dog candle holder” and refers to each their appearance and their underground lifestyle. Is. However, also they are extremely rare and hard to seek out. “Currently, about 100 species have been identified within the family, of which about half are known only from their first discovery, sometimes from a single specimen,” explains Kobe University botanist Kenji SUETSUGU, who’s an internationally renowned expert on non-photosynthetic Plants
Suetsugu has a long-standing collaboration with local botanists who’ve access to wilderness areas throughout Japan. “The dedication of Japanese amateur researchers to reveal the hidden flora of these regions has been instrumental in identifying species unknown to science,” he says. And so, when he was sent a specimen of a fairy lantern found by a hobby botanist and believed by a neighborhood expert to represent a brand new species of the genus Tanuki-no-Shokudai, he knew He needed to do research. However, it soon became clear that “this plant did not belong to the existing genus (such as ) because of its unique characteristics, and it became necessary to obtain additional individuals for further examination.” So, they went to Kimotosuki in Kagoshima Prefecture, where the invention had been made, but no other specimens may very well be found. However, a yr later he tried again and got lucky: he found 4 more plants, all in the identical narrow area.
The Kobe University expert has now published his evaluation in Scientific American. Based on each morphological and genetic evaluation, the team concluded that the plant will not be only a brand new species but is definitely quite different from tanuki-no-shokudai, which is a distinct genus — the following level of relationship above species. The researchers imagine that this plant probably diverged early within the evolution of the Thymiaceae family and retained traits which are common within the family but have been lost within the genus. This is why Suetsugu selected the name “Mujina-no-shukudai” or “Badger's candleholder”: “Mujina” is an old Japanese word for a badger, but sometimes also for a raccoon dog. Used to resemble but differ from. Thus, the name reflects the association with the plant. The Latin name is analogous, as it will probably be translated as “Relics of Kimotosuki”.
“Japan is one of the regions in the world where botanical surveys are most advanced, so the discovery of new plant species is extremely rare, and the discovery of a new genus is even more rare,” says Suetsugu. . In fact, the last discovery of a brand new vascular plant identified as a separate genus was within the Thirties, nearly 100 years ago. Suetsugu explains, “This research may suggest that many other new species may be hiding in regions that were previously thought to be well-studied, and that the planet's flora may be overseas and It highlights the critical need for in-country research and investigation.”
A plant that feeds on fungi and is so limited in its spatial distribution that it is usually unusually vulnerable to environmental changes. This motivates Suetsugu to deepen his research, saying, “Part of our future research shall be dedicated to ecological studies that aim to look at the consequences of climate change on these associations and to know the interactions between its fungal hosts.”
This study was supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency's PRESTO program (grant JPMJPR21D6), JSPS KAKENHI (grant 21K06307) and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (grant JPMEERF20204001), Ministry of the Environment, Japan. This was done in collaboration with an independent researcher and researchers from Kyoto University and Kagoshima University Museum.