Researchers have described a new species of leafless flowering plant found on the forest floor of a national park in western Thailand, and its otherworldly appearance has earned it a fittingly dramatic name: Thismia daemona, the "devil flower".
The species belongs to Thismia, a genus of small plants sometimes called "fairy lanterns". Unlike most plants, they contain no chlorophyll and cannot photosynthesise, instead drawing nutrients from underground fungi and spending almost their entire lives hidden beneath leaf litter.
The new species was found by botanists from Chulalongkorn University and Prince of Songkla University during surveys of Thong Pha Phum National Park, growing at nearly 1,000 metres elevation, which is an unusually high and seasonally dry setting for the genus.
"Finding Thismia daemona in Thong Pha Phum National Park was indeed a major surprise," said Dr Sahut Chantanaorrapint of Prince of Songkla University. "Typically, Thismia species are known to occur in perennially humid lowland rainforests, however, this population was discovered in a seasonal, montane evergreen forest at an elevation of nearly 1,000 metres above sea level."
The find matters well beyond Thailand's borders too. The new species belongs to Thismia section Geomitra, previously known only from Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra, so its discovery pushes the known range of the whole section northwards for the first time.
Its looks live up to the name. The flower is mostly black, with horn-like appendages crowning a dome shaped "mitre", while patches of vivid reddish orange around its base recall a demon's glowing eyes. "Combined with its hidden, subterranean and mysterious lifestyle on the forest floor, our team unanimously agreed that naming it Thismia daemona perfectly captured its enigmatic and devil-like essence," Dr Chantanaorrapint said.
Despite its interesting appearance, its future is precarious. Known from a single population of fewer than 50 individuals in an area smaller than a football pitch, it has provisionally been assessed as Critically Endangered, partly because its habitat sits within a national park popular with tourists.
Dr Chantanaorrapint sees community involvement as key to its survival: "A key next step is adopting a sustainable conservation approach aligned with the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere concept, harmonising biodiversity conservation with human engagement. Inspiring local people to take pride in their natural heritage not only safeguards the microhabitat, but also supports sustainable, community led ecotourism."
The study, published in the open-access journal PhytoKeys , brings the number of Thismia species recorded in Thailand to sixteen.
