Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Itanagar: A rare wild relative of the blueberry, Vaccinium piliferum, has been rediscovered in the remote forests of Arunachal Pradesh after vanishing from botanical records for 188 years. Last documented in 1836, the plant was feared extinct until a team of researchers from the Society for Education and Environmental Development and the CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology located it in the Changlang district.
The team found only 16 individual plants near the tributaries of the Noa-Dihing River within the ecologically sensitive Vijoynagar region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies the species as endangered, underscoring the fragility of the population found in this eastern Himalayan ecosystem.
Experts emphasize that the plant holds significant scientific value for agricultural research. As a wild relative of cultivated berries, it provides a genetic resource for studies into disease resistance, climate resilience, and future crop improvement. Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein praised the discovery, noting that the find highlights the state's immense ecological wealth and the ongoing necessity of protecting its threatened natural habitats.
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