📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Jintu baro
Science
Gauhati University team rediscovers 1821‑recorded shrub in Bongaigaon, Assam
✍️ India Today NE
🗓 21 Oct 2026, 05:01 AM
👁 10
Researchers from Gauhati University have located a shrub in Bongaigaon that was first described in 1821, marking its first confirmed sighting in nearly two centuries.
Gauhati University botanists announced the rediscovery of a shrub in Bongaigaon, Assam, that was originally documented by early 19th‑century naturalists in 1821. The team confirmed the plant’s identity during a field survey in the district’s forested area, noting that it matches the historic description recorded in colonial botanical literature.
The find is significant because the shrub has not been reported in any scientific records for almost 200 years, leading experts to assume it might have become extinct or been misidentified. Its reappearance provides a rare opportunity to reassess the region’s historical flora and fill gaps in botanical inventories.
Scientists plan to collect specimens for detailed taxonomic study and to evaluate the shrub’s ecological role in the local habitat. The rediscovery underscores the importance of continued field research in Assam’s biodiverse landscapes and may inform future conservation strategies for other potentially lost plant species.
The find is significant because the shrub has not been reported in any scientific records for almost 200 years, leading experts to assume it might have become extinct or been misidentified. Its reappearance provides a rare opportunity to reassess the region’s historical flora and fill gaps in botanical inventories.
Scientists plan to collect specimens for detailed taxonomic study and to evaluate the shrub’s ecological role in the local habitat. The rediscovery underscores the importance of continued field research in Assam’s biodiverse landscapes and may inform future conservation strategies for other potentially lost plant species.