Czech scientists uncover unknown plant in Borneo

An expert team from Olomouc’s Palácký University’s Faculty of Science discovered an unknown plant species in Borneo, university representatives have revealed. The plant, which researchers had named Thismia hexagona, was found by accident, after a student member of the team lost his footing on wet ground. Martin Dančák of the university’s Department of Ecology & Environmental Sciences described the appearance of the plant as “very bizarre at first sight” – not green, a seemingly leafless stalk leading most often with a single bloom and little tentacles. Thismia hexagona ranks among mycoheterotrophic plants, i.e. non-green plants without Chlorophyll. Unlike most such plants, he said, it was not parasitic.