Devil Flower Species Found: Fungi-fed Thai plant stuns botanists; fewer than 50 exist

It has no leaves, no branches and no green parts, and spends much of its life concealed beneath fallen leaves on the forest floor. Scientists have now described a bizarre new flowering plant from Thailand, naming it Thismia daemona, the “devil flower”, for its dark, horn-like appearance. Details of the discovery were reported by Pensoft Publishers, while the research paper, Thismia daemona (Thismiaceae), a new species from Thailand supported by morphological and molecular evidence, was published in PhytoKeys and is also indexed on DeepDyve. Found in Thong Pha Phum National Park in western Thailand, the plant belongs to Thismia, a genus of tiny, unusual flowering plants sometimes known as “fairy lanterns”. Unlike ordinary green plants, Thismia daemona contains no chlorophyll and cannot photosynthesise. Instead, it obtains nutrients through underground fungi, remaining hidden beneath leaf litter for most of its life.A flower that doesn’t behave like an ordinary plantThe most remarkable thing about the new species is what it lacks. Because Thismia daemona is achlorophyllous, it contains no chlorophyll and therefore cannot photosynthesise. Instead, it relies on underground fungal partn...