SORENG, : Prakash Limboo, Pramod Rai and
Madhusudhan Khanal’s six-year research on flora of Sikkim has led to discovery
of 12 new species of orchids and two new varieties of wild jasmine in Sikkim.
Limboo is a geography teacher in Sikkim
government school, Rai, a botany scholar from Namchi, and Khanal a PhD scholar
from Kalimpong.
As per the research carried by the trio
and their findings, Bulbophyllum nigrescens and Coelogyne phitamii are two new
orchid variants discovered for the first time in India. Other 10 orchids which
are new to Sikkim are: Bulbophyllum forrestii, B. nigrescens, Coelogyne
bulleyia, C. chinensis, C. micrantha, Dendrobium brymerianum, D. capillipes, D.
darjeelingense, D. pendulum, Goodyera viridiflora and Vanda lonagitepala. The
two new jasmine records are Jasminum caudatum and J.grandiflorum.
The discovery of new species of flora in
the State was the result of extensive, intricate and detailed research work
initiated over a long period of time around densely forested regions of Sikkim.
Limboo highlighted the challenges of
their research which involved navigating dense forests and dealing with harsh
weather conditions. Despite the difficulties, he expressed satisfaction with
their discoveries. He said, “Discovering and recording some new species of
flora from Sikkim and introducing the same to the world remain a dream of a
botanist and our successful research work on regional flora of Sikkim reflects
the fulfilment of long cherished dream of ours. The research work was carried
over a considerable period of time and was tiresome, but the final outcome was
more than satisfying. The discovery of new species of flora in Sikkim is
collective work of ours (himself, Rai and Khanal). We are happy to be a part of
a successful research work and we are eager to team up again for another
mission in near future.”
The researchers funded their work
personally, without external financial aid.
They maintained that as botanists or “citizen
scientists” they find it adventurous to delve into an objective of bringing
natural treasure trove of Sikkim present in the form of its rich biodiversity
to the world and the recent research was part of their mission to study the
flora of Sikkim with a hope of finding new flora species that fail to get
recognized or recorded due to lack of research and study.
They further shared that they have been
working tirelessly in their capacity for promotion, preservation and
recognition of flora of Sikkim.
They revealed that about 10 more flora
species are yet to be published.
The team believes their discoveries will
encourage further research into Sikkim’s biodiversity. They opine that with
necessary assistance from higher institutions, if research and study of flora
and fauna of Sikkim are given priority, there are huge unexplored natural
resources yet to be discovered.
They stressed the importance of
prioritizing research and preservation efforts to prevent the degradation of
natural wealth.
Limboo, Rai and Khanal’s dedication to
botany includes rescuing endangered plants from natural habitats, growing them
in personal gardens and sometimes reintroducing them into the wild.
