Thismia malayana

Stuart Blackman

WHAT IS IT? This strangely beautiful plant, which grows up to about 10cm tall, is a member of the Burmanniaceae family, a group of mostly inconspicuous species that produce a huge variety of unusual flowers. This species bears golden, star-shaped blooms that attract the fungus gnats that pollinate it. WHERE DOES IT LIVE? So far, it has been found at two tropical rainforest sites in Peninsular Malaysia, where it grows among leaf litter and rotting wood on shady forest floors. First spotted in 2020 in the Tengku Hassanal Wildlife Reserve in the state of Pahang, it was later found in Ulu Bendul Recreation Park near Negeri Sembilan. WHAT’S THE MEANING BEHIND THE SCIENTIFIC NAME? The genus, Thismia, which contains another 108 species, was described in 1844 by a Mr William…

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Bbc Wildlife (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2024

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