New plant species recorded in Nagaland community forest

GUWAHATI

A team of researchers from Nagaland University has recorded a new plant species in the high-altitude forests of Nagaland, cementing the northeastern region of India as a biodiversity hotspot and reaffirming the vital role of community-protected forests in conservation.

The hitherto undocumented species, Hoya nagaensis, was found during botanical surveys in remote forest areas that have remained largely unexplored by science.

Nagaland’s forests are unusual in that many are protected and managed by local communities rather than the State. While this traditional stewardship has preserved vast tracts of forest, limited scientific documentation has left much of the region’s biodiversity unrecorded.

Hoya nagaensis, the newly species identified in the North East by Nagaland University Researchers. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Nagaland University team set out to bridge this gap through fieldwork and taxonomic research.

Led by Gyati Yam of the University’s Department of Forestry, the study involved observation, specimen collection, and comparison with known species. The other authors of the study are the university’s researchers, Vieneite-o Koza and Joynath Pegu.

The research, supported by Nagaland University’s Start-Up Project for Young Faculty, was published in Kew Bulletin, an international journal on plant taxonomy and biodiversity.

According to the researchers, what makes Hoya nagaensis special is its distinctive appearance. The plant displays unique leaf shapes and floral features that clearly set it apart from other members of the Hoya genus, a group known for its ornamental value. These characteristics confirmed that the species was previously unknown to science.

The plant has so far been recorded from only one location: the Kavünhou Community Reserved Forest in Phek district. Its limited range, combined with threats such as shifting cultivation and forest disturbance, made researchers provisionally classify it as Critically Endangered.

Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, Jagadish Kumar Patnaik, described the find as a “powerful reminder of the ecological value of community-managed forests”. He noted that such areas act as safe havens for rare and endemic species while contributing vital data to global plant science.

The researchers emphasised that the “discovery is about more than a single species”. They said it highlights the Eastern Himalaya’s temperate forests as reservoirs of undiscovered plant diversity and demonstrates how indigenous forest stewardship can effectively safeguard fragile ecosystems.