probably diverged at an early stage in the evolution of the whole family and retains ancestral characteristics. This history is reflected in the plant’s name. Credit: Suetsugu Kenjiand genus of fairy lantern, tiny glass-like white plants that feed on fungi, has been discovered in Japan. In the country renowned for its extensive flora research, the discovery of a new plant genus is extremely rare and has not occurred in almost 100 years.
Suetsugu has long-standing collaborations with local botanists who have access to secluded areas all over Japan. He says, “The dedication of Japanese amateur researchers to revealing the hidden flora of these regions has been crucial in identifying species unknown to science.” And so, when he was sent a specimen of a fairy lantern that a hobby botanist had found and that a local expert thought represented a new species of the genus of Tanuki-no-shokudai, he knew he had to investigate.
“Japan is one of the regions in the world where botanical surveys are most advanced, making the discovery of new plant species extremely rare, and the discovery of a new genus even more so,” says Suetsugu. In fact, the last discovery of a new vascular plant concurrently identified as a separate genus was the discovery ofin 1930, almost 100 years ago.