‘Lost’ for 170 years, rare plant recorded in Sri Lanka
Researchers have a population of an extremely rare plant species, last recorded in Sri Lanka in 1855, growing in a lowland forest fragment along the Sitawaka Ganga River. Documenting the finding in a recent study, researchers write that the plant, Indianthus virgatus, while officially listed as critically endangered in Sri Lanka, was presumed possibly […]
A rare plant species, last seen in Sri Lanka over 170 years ago, has been discovered growing in a lowland forest. Researchers found a population of Indianthus virgatus, a critically endangered plant with small white flowers, in a fragment of forest along the Sitawaka Ganga River in 2025. The plant, which was presumed extinct in the wild, had only been recorded once in Sri Lanka, in 1855.
Using historical records and predictive habitat modeling, researchers identified potential habitats in southwestern Sri Lanka and discovered the population of 70 to 100 individuals. The species is unique, found only in the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka, with populations separated by a large geographical gap. This discovery sheds light on the plant's evolutionary and biogeographical context.
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