Rare Himalayan Flower Cyananthus hookeri Rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh After 158 Years

Key facts

• The rare Himalayan flowering plant Cyananthus hookeri has been rediscovered in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The plant belongs to the bellflower family (Campanulaceae) and was last documented in India in 1867 in Sikkim by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker.
• The discovery was made on 20 September 2025 near Chuna Valley, approximately 1 km from Mago village, at an altitude of about 3,600 metres.
• The rediscovery was conducted by Subhajit Lahiri and Monalisa Das of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) under the supervision of Sudhansu Sekhar Dash.
• Voucher specimens of the plant have been deposited at the Central National Herbarium (CAL) in Howrah.
• The findings were published on 30 June 2026 in the international conservation journal Oryx.
• Scientists estimate that fewer than 50 mature individuals of the species exist in India.
• Cyananthus hookeri is distributed across the Eastern Himalayas, including Bhutan, China (including Tibet), and Nepal.
• The species typically grows in thickets, grasslands, and rocky slopes at elevations between 2,700 and 4,500 metres.
• Researchers have recommended classifying the species as Endangered nationally under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria.