Extinct flower rediscovered in South America after four decades

A research team has rediscovered a flower species in the Andes region of South America that was thought to be extinct for 40 years, Daily Mail reported.  

The South American Windflower was rediscovered in the cloud forests of the Andes region after four decades. In 2000, scientists concluded that the windflower has been extinct since the 1980s.

The bright orange flower was named ‘extinctus’ because the forest it was found in had been largely destroyed, leading them to suspect the tropical plant had already died out.

However, the sighting of the extinct flower has been confirmed by researchers at Chicago’s Field Museum.

Dawson White, a postdoctoral researcher at Chicago’s Field Museum and co-lead author of the paper said  ‘Extinctus was given its striking name in light of the extensive deforestation in western Ecuador.’

He added, ‘But if you claim something’s gone, then no one is really going to go out and look for it anymore.

He said that there are still a lot of important species that are still out there, even though overall, we’re in this age of extinction.

The flower’s real name is Gasteranthus which means ‘belly flower’ because the plants have a big pouch on their underside with a little opening on top where pollinators can enter and exit.