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Our Correspondent
Imphal, May 8 (EMN): Biswasi Butterfly Orchid (Papilionanthe biswasiana), a medium sized orchid, which grows on trees and found only in Burma, Thailand and China was discovered for the first time in India by a team of New Delhi based website for flowers called Flowers of India (FoI) from Manipur.
A flower hunter team, who had been contributing photographs of flowers to FoI team, photographed the orchid while exploring floristic diversity at Khangkhui area in Manipur's Ukhrul district, the natural habitat of state flower Shirui Lily (Lilium Mackliniae).
This new orchid plant was recorded from Khangkhui area in Ukhrul district, informed Tabish, creator of the 17-year-old site. Later, it was identified by Botanist (Orchid ecology & Taxonomy) Dr. Pankaj Kumar of Hong Kong based Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, a conservation and education centre.
The species was not reported earlier and is a new addition to the flora of the country. This rare plant must be growing in similar climate in Northeast but nobody realised it, Tabish said.
Tabish, a physicist by profession, also claimed that in August 2018, Aristolochia Ovatifolia, a climbing shrub found in China, was spotted for the first time in India by a team of FoI in Manipur.
The oval-leaf pipevine species was known as "Ngashanwon" at the Shirui village in Ukhrul district. The name pipevine refers to the unusual shape of the flowers, which look like Dutch smoking pipes.