Guwahati, Sept. 24 -- A botanist from Assam is part of a research team that has discovered and formally described a new species of Begonia from a remote river valley in Arunachal Pradesh, adding to the Northeast's growing record of plant diversity.

The newly identified species, Begonia neelamorum, was discovered in Keyi Panyor district and described in the latest issue of the journal Taiwania. Dipankar Borah, from the Department of Botany at Kaliabor College in Nagaon, is the lead author of the research paper.

The plant was found during an expedition to a remote river valley, where researchers encountered an unusual single-leaf, tuberous Begonia growing on steep, moist walls along the Keyi River at an elevation of around 1,000 metres. ...