New flower discovered in Ranong National Park
The Cute Star Flower (Lasianthus ranongensis Sinbumroong & Napiroon) is a newly discovered plant found at Ngao Waterfall National Park in Ranong’s Muang district and was recently acknowledged by the United States’ PeerJ journal (Plant Biology Section), Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said in a facebook post on Tuesday.
“The journal gave the scientific name after the discoverers Arun Sinbumroong, Department of National Parks’ forest specialist and Dr Thiewthawat Napiroon of Biotechnology Department at Thammasart University, who collected the sample of the plant from the national park and gave it a proper taxonomy,” said the department.
The Cute Star Flower or ‘Dara Pilas’ in Thai is of Rubiaceae family which is rich in Scopoletin, a substance usually used for rheumatic arthritis therapy in traditional medicine. The six- to seven-point star flowers give the plant a signature look that distinguishes itself from general dicotyledon which usually have four to five petals or their multiplication. The Cute Star Flower has been found exclusively in tropical forests of Thailand along the Andaman Sea.
“The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and discoverers’ research team are looking into ways of multiplying this plant in the areas, possibly by using biotechnology,” added the department.