New Flowering Plant Species 'Begonia neelamorum' Discovered in Arunachal Pradesh
A new flowering plant species, Begonia neelamorum, was formally described from Keyi Panyor district, Arunachal Pradesh, raising the number of Begonia species in Northeast India to 54 out of nearly 2,200 accepted globally. The findings were published in the internationally peer-reviewed journal Taiwania. The type specimen was collected on 24 May 2026 along the Keyi River at about 1,000 metres elevation, across a range of only about 3 square kilometres. The 10-20 cm tall tuberous plant has a single sessile light-green leaf and white flowers. Named after the Neelam clan of the Nyishi community, it is provisionally classified Data Deficient under IUCN criteria.
The Nyishi are the largest tribal group of Arunachal Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh became a full state on 20 February 1987 with Itanagar as its capital | 'Data Deficient' is a distinct IUCN Red List category for species with insufficient information