Botanists have rediscovered the rare Himalayan flowering plant Cyananthus hookeri in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district, marking the species’ first recorded sighting in 158 years.
The purple bellflower was last documented in 1876 in Sikkim by renowned British botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker. The latest discovery was made by researchers Subhajit Lahiri and Monalisa Das, working under Dr Sudhansu Sekhar Dash of the Botanical Survey of India.
The team located the endangered flower at an altitude of around 3,600 metres in alpine grasslands and rocky slopes near Chuna Valley, close to Mago village. Their findings have been published in the scientific journal Oryx.
According to Lahiri, the researchers were not specifically searching for Cyananthus hookeri. Instead, they had spent nearly three years documenting rare and endemic Himalayan flora before unexpectedly encountering the species during a field survey in September 2025.
Conducting research in the remote border region required multiple clearances from Army mountain brigades, forest authorities, local police and the district administration because of the area’s strategic location.
Lahiri said the flower survives only under highly specific climatic and ecological conditions, making it extremely vulnerable to habitat disturbances. Changes in temperature, tourism, infrastructure development and other human activities can alter the plant’s flowering cycle, elevation range and pollination patterns.
The researchers found fewer than 50 individual plants in the area and have recommended that Cyananthus hookeri be officially classified as an endangered species in India in line with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.
Welcoming the discovery, Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein said the rediscovery highlights the ecological significance of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. He also praised the Botanical Survey of India and the research team for bringing to light another example of the state’s rich biodiversity.
