Lost for 158 years, rare alpine flower rediscovered in Arunachal

Lost for 158 years, rare alpine flower rediscovered in Arunachal

Rare alpine flower Cyananthus hookeri rediscovered in Arunachal’s Tawang after 158 years; BSI found <50 plants, urges endangered status.

A rare flower, Cyananthus hookeri, blooms after 158 years; does it signify something?

Cyananthus hookeri vanished from India’s botanical record in 1867. This September, on a wind-scoured Himalayan slope, it reappeared. Scientists have confirmed the first Indian sighting of the tiny purple-blue flower in 158 years, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district. Fewer than 50 mature plants are thought to survive in the country. The find A Botanical Survey of India team spotted the plant on September 20, 2025, near Chuna Valley, a kilomete…

Rare Himalayan flowering plant recorded in Arunachal after 158 years

ITANAGAR, 9 Jul: A rare Himalayan flowering plant, Cyananthus hookeri, has been recorded in Tawang district after 158 years, marking its first confirmed sighting in India since it was last documented in Sikkim in 1867, officials said on Wednesday. The species was recorded by scientists of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) during a field […]

Rare Himalayan Flower Rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh After 158 Years

A rare Himalayan flower, Cyananthus hookeri, has been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh 158 years after its last confirmed Indian record.

Rare Himalayan flower Cyananthus hookeri rediscovered in Arunachal after 158 years

New Delhi: Scientists have rediscovered Cyananthus hookeri, a rare Himalayan flowering plant that had not been recorded in India for 158 years, in a significant botanical finding from Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district. The purple-blue flower was found during a botanical survey conducted in September 2025 in Chuna Valley near Mago village at an altitude of around 3,600 metres in the Eastern Himalayas. The rediscovery marks the first confirmed s…