Agartala, Aug. 15 -- Mycetia malayana (Rubiaceae), a rare plant species of the genus Mycetia, has been recorded in India for the first time from Tripura.

The finding was made during a study near Kachari Waterfall in Kanchanpur subdivision of North Tripura. Dixit Bora, a botanist at Tripura University, said that during a recent field visit to the site, he came across two Mycetia species-one of which was entirely unfamiliar to him.

Subsequent scientific analysis by Bora and his co-authors confirmed the specimen as Mycetia malayana, marking its debut in Indian flora.

"This species was earlier reported only from Malaya, Borneo, and Thailand, and is already extinct in Singapore. With this discovery, the total number of Mycetia species in In...