Rare Mycetia malayana recorded in India for the first time from Tripura’s Kachari waterfall

In a remarkable botanical discovery, Mycetia malayana (Rubiaceae), a rare plant species previously known only from Malaya, Borneo, and Thailand — and now extinct in Singapore — has been recorded in India for the first time. 

The finding was made during a field study near Kachari Waterfall in the Kanchanpur sub-division of Tripura’s North District.

The breakthrough was confirmed by a team comprising Dixit Bora from the Department of Botany, Tripura University, Dipankar Borah of Kaliabor College, Assam, and Prof. Badal Kumar Datta of Tripura University. According to Bora, the team encountered two Mycetia species during their visit — one identified as Mycetia longiflora and another unfamiliar specimen that, after detailed taxonomic study, was confirmed to be M. malayana.

“Until now, eight species of Mycetia were known from India. This study adds a ninth species to the country’s flora and marks the first-ever record from the Department of Botany, Tripura University,” Bora said. He added that M. malayana had recently been reported from Bangladesh, making the Tripura finding a significant addition to the species’ known range.

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Bora recalled that the discovery was the culmination of years of exploration across Tripura. “In the last five years, we have travelled extensively, interacting with locals and observing plant species — many of them new to us. But finding something that is a first for the country is a dream come true,” he said.

The team finally reached the scenic Kachari Waterfall on 26 May 2025 after multiple failed attempts due to poor connectivity. It was there, on opposite sides of the waterfall, that they spotted the two Mycetia species, one of which turned out to be the rare M. malayana.

Given that the genus Mycetia is not widespread in India, the discovery is being hailed as a milestone in the country’s botanical research and a testament to the biodiversity potential of Tripura’s lesser-explored landscapes.