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.