Japanese experts explore new ‘glass-like’ orchid species
AFP | | Posted by Lingamgunta Nirmitha Rao
A new species of orchid with delicate, glass-like blooms has been uncovered by Japanese scientists, who located the pink and white plant hiding in plain sight.
Inspite of its existence in Japan’s parks and gardens, it took scientists at Kobe College a decade to ensure that the plant — dubbed the “Spiranthes hachijoensis” — was a beforehand unknown species.
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“It was a shock to explore a new species of spiranthes, which is so widespread that you can see it in parks, gardens and among potted plants,” guide researcher Kenji Suetsugu told AFP Thursday.
Some of the samples ended up “from potted plants and gardens”, which includes ones kept at a high college in Japan’s central Gifu region, the phytology professor reported.
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“From its curious search and dainty blooms that resemble glasswork, this flower has very long been liked by men and women,” the university reported in a press launch.
The plant, with its spiralling blossoms, was even stated in Japan’s oldest anthology of poems, the eighth-century “Manyoshu”.
The discovery of the new sort of spiranthes, from time to time recognized as “ladies’ tresses”, was declared very last week in the Journal of Plant Exploration. It was offered the identify “hachijoensis” since numerous samples have been discovered on Tokyo’s Hachijojima island.