A new species of orchid plant that never blooms and doesn’t use photosynthesis was discovered by researchers from Kyoto University in Japan last April.
A new species of orchid plant that never blooms and doesn’t use photosynthesis was discovered by researchers from Kyoto University in Japan last April.
The plant’s taxonomical name, Gastrodia takeshimensis, was taken from the location where it was found on the island of Takeshima, that is part of the Kagoshima Prefecture in the East China Sea.
Researchers found over a hundred specimens of the plant, which reportedly grows underground for most of its life except for about a month in the spring when it pops up to be between 7 and 16 centimeters tall.
It’s very rare for a new species of plant to be discovered, especially one that doesn’t derive its energy from the sun using photosynthesis.
Instead, this orchid feeds off the fungi attached to the roots of the plant.
There is only one other known species of plant, called the Gastrodia clausa, that doesn’t bloom or use photosynthesis.
There are around 50 different species within the Gastrodia orchid family, and nine of them grow in Japan, but none of them have colorful, ornate flowers like the most popular kinds of orchids.
