Shakuntla RanawatMeta Description: Rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh after 158 years, Cyananthus hookeri highlights the importance of botanical exploration and biodiversity conservation in the eastern Himalayas. In September 2025, scientists from the Botanical Survey of India rediscovered Cyananthus hookeri, a tiny Himalayan flowering plant that had not been recorded in India for 158 years. The last confirmed Indian record of Cyananthus hookeri dates back to 1867, when eminent British botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker collected the species in Sikkim. Difficult terrain, limited accessibility and a short flowering season mean that many plant species are rarely encountered," says Dr Subhajit Lahiri, Research Associate III at the Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah. "Rediscoveries such as Cyananthus hookeri remind us that there are still significant gaps in our understanding of Himalayan biodiversity.