It was 1992. japanese city kobeThe discovery of a strange plant, also known as the ‘gate of the spirits’, caught the attention of Japanese biologists Nakanishi and Kobayashi. about one tiny vegetable It has whitish skin and, despite its small size, it has a rough appearance that can be noticed on wooded ground due to the peculiar shine it gives. scientists they took this sample with curiosity and took it to a lab to study.
turned out to be one Example of the genus ‘Thismia’plants known as “fairy lanterns”, unusual appearance and for his strange behavior. This class of vegetables does not have any green leaves. They also do not perform photosynthesis. They feed by taking nutrients from other organisms around them. About ninety different species have been found in this genus so far, but according to scientists, none like the one found in the Japanese forest. The discovery of this unique specimen, christened ‘Thismia kobensisfue’, prompted the search for more such ‘fairy lighthouses’.
scientists They tried to find more examples like in Kobe for years. Between 1992 and 1998, a scientific campaign was organized that scoured the ground to find more plants like this. In 1999, all hopes were dashed when the construction of an industrial complex in the area completely devastated the area where this interesting plant was discovered, and in doing so. destroyed the chance to find more examples this plant
In 2010, almost two decades after the first discovery of this remarkable specimen, the species was officially considered extinct. This the story of this mysterious flower it seemed to end there. But as with any good story, an unexpected change in the script has brought the protagonist of this story back into the limelight.
(RE)discovered 30 years later
as advertised Japanese biologist Kenji Suetsugu In an article published this Monday in the expert scientific journal ‘Phytotaxa’, Another specimen of this species was found. ‘fairy lantern’ in the Japanese city of Sanda, more than 30 kilometers away from where the first flower was discovered. Thirty years have passed since the first specimen of Thismia kobensisfue was found, and at this point, It seemed almost impossible to find such a plant alive again.. Scientists, in fact, are already talking about the ‘rediscovery’ of this species.
The team of scientists who found this flower also conducted a detailed analysis to understand its evolutionary history. Study finds this Asian ‘fairy lantern’ species the northernmost known. The morphological study of this plant also its closest relative ‘Thismia americana’: A species discovered more than a century ago in the United States, observed for several years on a prairie near Chicago, and now considered extinct, like its Asian counterpart.
This the story of the fairy lanterns continues to surprise experts. First of all, according to the botanists responsible for this latest study, the presence of these plants follows a “strange distribution pattern”. So far specimens of ‘Thismia’ of different species have been found in Japan, North America, Australia and New Zealand. For now, not all ‘fairy lanterns’ appear to be related, so it is suspected that they may have evolved independently.