Himalayan blueberry lost to science for 188 years discovered in Arunachal Pradesh
Scientists have rediscovered Vaccinium piliferum in Arunachal Pradesh after nearly 188 years without a confirmed sighting. The find highlights the region's rich biodiversity and the urgent need to protect its fragile forest habitat.
A rare Himalayan plant species lost to science for nearly 188 years has been rediscovered in the remote forests of Arunachal Pradesh, marking one of the most significant botanical finds from Northeast India in recent years.
Scientists have rediscovered Vaccinium piliferum, a wild relative of blueberry and cranberry, during field surveys in Vijoynagar in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district.
The discovery was made by researchers from the Society for Education and Environmental Development (SEED), CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology (CSIR-NEIST), and collaborating institutions.
The findings have now been published in the international botanical journal Feddes Repertorium.
Researchers said the species was first documented in November 1836 by British botanist William Griffith from the Mishmi Hills region of present-day Arunachal Pradesh during the colonial era.
A second collection was made in 1850 from Meghalaya’s Khasi Hills by noted botanists Joseph Dalton Hooker and T. Thomson. After that, however, the species disappeared from scientific records entirely.
For nearly two centuries, no confirmed sightings existed.
The newly rediscovered population was found growing along tributaries of the Noa-Dihing river near Vijoynagar at elevations between 1,150 and 1,280 metres in dense forest habitats.
What has alarmed scientists is the extremely small surviving population. The team documented only 16 individual plants scattered across an area of around 2 square kilometres, with most growing far away from each other.
Already listed as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the species now faces serious threats because of its limited population size and fragile habitat.
To aid future conservation, researchers have mapped and recorded GPS coordinates of all known plants.
Belonging to the Ericaceae family, Vaccinium piliferum is related to commercially important fruits such as blueberries and cranberries. Scientists described it as a climbing shrub that can grow up to 4.5 metres tall, often attaching itself to trees inside forest ecosystems.
The plant produces pale green, bell-shaped flowers and dark purple berry-like fruits coated with a bluish-white wax layer resembling blueberries.
The rediscovered population also revealed several previously undocumented features. Scientists observed an epiphytic growth habit, where the plant grows on other plants for support, along with reddish leaf margins, glaucous floral structures, and distinctive blueberry-like fruits.
Researchers say the rediscovery highlights the extraordinary biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh and the Eastern Himalaya, one of the world’s most ecologically rich but underexplored regions.
The finding also serves as a warning. Scientists stressed that many Himalayan species could disappear before they are properly studied, underscoring the urgent need for continued botanical exploration and stronger conservation measures in remote forest ecosystems.
A rare Himalayan plant species lost to science for nearly 188 years has been rediscovered in the remote forests of Arunachal Pradesh, marking one of the most significant botanical finds from Northeast India in recent years.
Scientists have rediscovered Vaccinium piliferum, a wild relative of blueberry and cranberry, during field surveys in Vijoynagar in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district.
The discovery was made by researchers from the Society for Education and Environmental Development (SEED), CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology (CSIR-NEIST), and collaborating institutions.
The findings have now been published in the international botanical journal Feddes Repertorium.
Researchers said the species was first documented in November 1836 by British botanist William Griffith from the Mishmi Hills region of present-day Arunachal Pradesh during the colonial era.
A second collection was made in 1850 from Meghalaya’s Khasi Hills by noted botanists Joseph Dalton Hooker and T. Thomson. After that, however, the species disappeared from scientific records entirely.
For nearly two centuries, no confirmed sightings existed.
The newly rediscovered population was found growing along tributaries of the Noa-Dihing river near Vijoynagar at elevations between 1,150 and 1,280 metres in dense forest habitats.
What has alarmed scientists is the extremely small surviving population. The team documented only 16 individual plants scattered across an area of around 2 square kilometres, with most growing far away from each other.
Already listed as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the species now faces serious threats because of its limited population size and fragile habitat.
To aid future conservation, researchers have mapped and recorded GPS coordinates of all known plants.
Belonging to the Ericaceae family, Vaccinium piliferum is related to commercially important fruits such as blueberries and cranberries. Scientists described it as a climbing shrub that can grow up to 4.5 metres tall, often attaching itself to trees inside forest ecosystems.
The plant produces pale green, bell-shaped flowers and dark purple berry-like fruits coated with a bluish-white wax layer resembling blueberries.
The rediscovered population also revealed several previously undocumented features. Scientists observed an epiphytic growth habit, where the plant grows on other plants for support, along with reddish leaf margins, glaucous floral structures, and distinctive blueberry-like fruits.
Researchers say the rediscovery highlights the extraordinary biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh and the Eastern Himalaya, one of the world’s most ecologically rich but underexplored regions.
The finding also serves as a warning. Scientists stressed that many Himalayan species could disappear before they are properly studied, underscoring the urgent need for continued botanical exploration and stronger conservation measures in remote forest ecosystems.
