So-called ‘fairy lanterns’ (genus Thismia) are among the most extraordinary-looking of all flowering plants. There are some 90 species worldwide, distributed across the forests of Asia, Australasia, South America, and the USA. Scientists at Oxford and in Malaysia have just described a species of fairy lantern completely new to science. To their dismay, the only known ‘fairy lantern’ plants had been destroyed by wild boars except for a single fruiting specimen. ">Video of Botanists name astonishing new species of ‘fairy lantern’ from Malaysian rainforestsOther species appear to be visited and pollinated by little fungus gnats, but in truth, we know little about the ecology of these plants – they are a mystery.
