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Medicinal plant found after 115 years
Published on Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 20:32, Updated on Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 20:42 in Sci-Tech section
Tags: Begonia Tessaricarpa, Plant , New Delhi
New Delhi: Scientists working in a tropical forest in India's northeast region have found a rare medicinal plant last seen 115 years ago, a scientific journal reported.
The botanists were working in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunchal Pradesh, when they found a specimen of Begonia Tessaricarpa, according to this month's issue of Current Science.
The herbaceous plant was once regarded as having medicinal properties by the region's ethnic tribes, and reportedly was used to treat stomach aches and dehydration. Its juices were also reportedly used to ward off leeches.
The plant was first listed in scientific literature by British scientist C B Clarke in 1879 and 1890 but had not been seen since, the journal reported.
''This species is still surviving in a few pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and was found growing in damp rocky places,'' the Press Trust of India quoted Kumar Ambarish of the Botanical Survey of India as saying.
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