Guwahati, Sept. 1 -- A new flowering plant species discovered in Assam by a Girijananda Chowdhury University (GCU) faculty member and a Guwahati-based botanist has been formally described in an international taxonomy journal.

Birina Bhuyan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany at GCU's Azara campus, and botanist Selim Mehmud identified the plant, which has been named Ophiorrhiza assamensis. Their findings were recently published in Phytotaxa.

The plant was found growing in a moist and shady habitat near Satargaon Road in Kamrup Metropolitan district. It is a small perennial herb characterised by large, ribbed leaves and dense clusters of small white flowers.

The newly identified species belongs to the Rubiaceae family, commo...