Presumed Extinct Funji-eating Fairy Lantern Plant Found Emerging Again in Japan

Thismia kobensis, a parasitic plant that has an ethereal 'fairy lantern' look to it, was thought to be extinct for 30 years. Now, scientists have been able to spot its emergence in Japan.

Presumed Extinction

According to Live Science, the plant is part of a fungus-snapping genus that is rarely spotted. They grow without photosynthesis because they thrive underground. Despite this, they sprout translucent flowers that look like ghostly fairy lanterns on the floor of the forest. Cosmos Magazine notes that the species is mistaken, at times, for a mushroom.

These plants only briefly erupt from the earth as flowers with intricate petals. Rather than using chlorophyll for photosynthesis, the plants go through a process known as mycoheterotrophy. This process enables them to take the nutrients out of fungi that get entwined with the plant's roots.

The ethereal fairy lantern plant was first reported in Kobe, Japan, way back in 1992. It was then presumed extinct after an industrial complex's building destroyed its home.

Now, after 30 years, scientists have spotted the presumed extinct fairy lantern plant on a forest trail that is around 19 miles away from the city where it was first discovered. Their discovery was intricately described in a study published in Phytotaxa.

Re-Emergence

In a news release, the researchers said that the unexpected rediscovery has granted fresh insight on the genus as well as its evolutionary history.

The plant's ideal habitats, which are usually tropical rainforests, are declining all over the world. There is little known about the plant species. Moreover, according to Live Science, around 90% of the identified plants have been lost since they were first discovered.

The researchers state that, since plants dependent on mycoheterotrophy indirectly gather carbon from photosynthetic plants through plant and fungal connections, they largely depend on the trees and fungi that sustain their being. Moreover, they are quite sensitive to disturbances in the environment. This makes them endangered and rare.

The specifically rediscovered species is now the northernmost known one. After looking into the plant, the scientists discovered that its characteristics, such as the lack of nectar glands and its unique petals, make it associated with the only fairy lantern in North America, which is the Thismia americana.

The researchers assume that T. kobensis may have descended from T. americana, which could have crossed over all the way from North America to East Asia via the Bering Land Bridge.

T. americana was first discovered in 1912 in Chicago. However, it has not been spotted since 1916.

Overall, being able to spot the fairy lantern plant's re-emergence has significantly boosted the scientific understanding of these fairy lanterns, as noted by the researchers. Aside from being the northernmost one spotted, it also offers vital insight regarding the general fairy lantern's evolutionary history and biogeography.

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