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Miracle of nature? ‘Gasteranthus extinctus’, plant once thought extinct, reemerges

LondonEdited By: Gandharv WaliaUpdated: Apr 18, 2022, 02:04 PM IST
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Extinct flower-bearing plant ‘Gasteranthus extinctus’ has reemerged (file photo). Photograph:(Twitter)

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The flower-bearing plant, which is named 'Gasteranthus extinctus', has been found by a team of scientists in Ecuador in November 2021, said a new study. The orange-petaled flower-bearing plant was discovered when the team visited the Centinela Ridge, the research published on Friday said

Can a species of plant reemerge after going extinct or at least thought to be? Well, the answer to this tough question is really easy, and it is, yes.   

As a true gift of nature, a flower-bearing plant has come to life after almost 40 years.  

The flower-bearing plant, which is named 'Gasteranthus extinctus', has been found by a team of scientists in Ecuador in November 2021, said a new study.  

The orange-petaled flower-bearing plant was discovered when the team visited the Centinela Ridge, the research published on Friday said.  

"Rediscovering this flower shows that it's not too late to turn around even the worst-case biodiversity scenarios, and it shows that there's value in conserving even the smallest, most degraded areas," said Dawson White, postdoctoral researcher, Chicago's Field Museum and co-author of the paper on G extinctus.   

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"It's an important piece of evidence that it's not too late to be exploring and inventorying plants and animals in the heavily degraded forests of western Ecuador," White added.  

To confirm the reemergence, the pictures of the flowers were shared with a taxonomic expert. He informed the flowers were of G extinctus, a press release of the Field Museum said.   

The flower-bearing plant is still highly endangered.  

(With inputs from agencies)