Thismia neptunis is a species of Thismia endemic to Borneo.[1] It was discovered by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari in 1866, and described in 1878. It was not observed again until 2017, when it was first photographed by a team of biologists from the Czech Republic.[2][3] It was found in the Gunung Matang massif in western Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo.[2][4]
| Thismia neptunis | |
|---|---|
| Left: Beccari's original illustration. Right: North's painting based on the original illustration. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Dioscoreales |
| Family: | Burmanniaceae |
| Genus: | Thismia |
| Species: | T. neptunis |
| Binomial name | |
| Thismia neptunis | |
T. neptunis lives underground, and is a myco-heterotroph, a plant which obtains nutrients through a parasitic relationship with fungi. It does not bloom every year, and when it does, its flower appears above the soil for only a few weeks.[5]
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