HYDERABAD: A new flowering plant species has been discovered in Telangana, with researchers naming it Ammannia telanganensis. The freshwater plant was found in water bodies and wet areas in Rangareddy district and the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Nagarkurnool district.
The species, belonging to the Lythraceae family, has been described in the latest issue of the international taxonomy journal Phytotaxa. The study was authored by Arikrishnan Parthiban and Ladan Rasingam of the Botanical Survey of India’s Deccan Regional Centre in Hyderabad, Siddharthan Surveswaran of the University of Hyderabad and Sandhya Deepika Devara of Andhra University.
The discovery followed field surveys and comparisons with related species and herbarium specimens, which showed that the collections did not match any known Ammannia species. The type specimen was collected near Vatwarlapalle in Amrabad on January 4, 2025, while other specimens came from Narsingi and Gachibowli in Rangareddy district.
The genus Ammannia comprises herbaceous plants associated with wet and aquatic habitats. The Telangana specimens resembled Ammannia cordata and Ammannia prostrata with distinct characteristics, including stalked flower clusters, magenta petals, distinctive leaves and bracts, and an unusual seed-coat pattern.
Unlike its close relatives, A. telanganensis has pedunculate cymes, or flower clusters borne on stalks, while its seeds have a distinctive cerebriform, or brain-like, surface pattern.
Researchers examined published literature, specimens in several Indian herbaria and digital images from botanical databases before concluding that the Telangana collections represented a previously undescribed species.
The plant grows in wet sandy soils along seasonal streams and on the fringes of water bodies, alongside wetland plants such as Ammannia multiflora and species of Rotala. It flowers and fruits between November and February.
The discovery also revisits a long-standing taxonomic question surrounding A. cordata. Although its original 1834 description referred to four petals, the researchers found petals consistently absent from authentic herbarium material and field collections they examined. They suggested that some petal-bearing specimens previously treated as A. cordata may belong to the newly recognised species.
The species’ conservation status remains Data Deficient because population size, trends and threats have not been adequately studied. Its estimated extent of occurrence is 2,114.6 sq km and area of occupancy 16 sq km, figures that meet the Endangered threshold under one IUCN criterion. The researchers have called for further field surveys.
‘Protection of wetlands must’
According to Ladan Rasingam of the Botanical Survey of India’s Deccan Regional Centre in Hyderabad, the finding adds to documentation of Telangana’s plant diversity and highlights the scientific importance of seasonal streams, wetlands and small water-body ecosystems, including those in rapidly urbanising areas.
Historical herbarium specimens from Hyderabad dating to 1834, and possibly earlier, suggest A. telanganensis may have persisted in the region for nearly two centuries, he said.
“The persistence of Ammannia telanganensis remaining wetlands highlights the ecological significance of these increasingly vulnerable freshwater habitats. Even small, undisturbed wetlands serve as valuable refuges for native flora. Their conservation is essential not only for the biodiversity we know, but also for the stories of nature that are still waiting to be understood,” Rasingam said.