TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Researchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) have identified seven new plant species by the end of 2021, the head of the agency's Research Center for Plant Conservation and Botanical Gardens has informed.

“The discovery has increased Indonesia's biodiversity. It also provides information for further research on sustainable use of the biodiversity," Sukma Surya Kusumah said in a written statement issued here on Saturday.

The research center will continue to explore and identify plants in their natural habitat to conserve endangered plants, he added.

Most of the plants classified by BRIN, such as Hoya batutikarensis, Hoya buntokensis, Dendrobium dedeksantosoi, Rigiolepis argentii, Begonia robii, Begonia willemii, and Etlingera comosa, are ornamental plants, he informed.

In addition, the agency has also found a subspecies of Zingiber ultralimitale identified as mataromeoense, Kusumah said.

Begonia robii is endemic to Sumatra Island, he informed. Its stem resembles a rhizome with highly asymmetrical leaves, he said. It has a very attractive leaf color pattern, and thus holds the potential to be an ornamental plant, he added.

Meanwhile, Begonia willemii can only be found in lowland limestone hills in Sulawesi Island, he said.

A sample of the species was collected from a forest in Luwuk Banggai district, Central Sulawesi province, he revealed. Its discovery was a collaboration between BRIN and researchers from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, he added.

A researcher at BRIN’s research center, Wisnu Handoyo Ardi, said that Begonia is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Currently, 2,052 Begonia species have been identified from pantropical regions around the world, he informed.

Indonesia is considered to be one of the areas which have a high diversity of this species, he noted. In fact, there are 243 Begonia species in Southeast Asia, he added.

"BRIN has actively carried out attempts for conserving and discovering new types of Begonias. Currently, we have succeeded in conserving more than 100 types of Begonias from various regions in Indonesia," the researcher said.

He said he believed that more new species would be found as more Indonesian forests are explored, he added.

Another plant discovered in 2021 was Rigiolepis argentii, he said. It is a woody shrub that belongs to the Ericaceae family, he disclosed.

The species was collected from Eran Batu Hill, Enrekang district, and Mount Sesean, North Toraja district, South Sulawesi province, he added.

Previously, Sulawesi Island was known to have only one species of Rigiolepis, namely Rigiolepis henrici, he noted.

However, in 2021, Rigiolepis argentii was declared as a new species since it had a combination of different morphological characters from all Rigiolepis species found in Indonesia, especially the most similar one, Rigiolepos moultonii, he added.

Rigiolepis argentii has persistent hairs on the upper surface of the leaves, while its bracts are found on the lower part of the flower stalk, he informed. It also has a cup-shaped petal tube, longer stalk, and copular fruit, he said.

The morphological characters were described by a lecturer and researcher at Samudra Langsa Aceh University, Wendi A. Mustaqim, and a researcher from BRIN’s research center, Wisnu Handoyo Ardi, he added.

Meanwhile, Etlingera comosa is endemic to Sulawesi Island, he said. The sample was found at Tentena mountains, Poso district, Central Sulawesi province, he added.

Its distinguishing characters are tufted hair on the midrib, asymmetrical and scalloped leaf ligules, thick hairy bracts, and longer filaments and shorter anthers compared to its closest species, Etlingera sublimata, he said.

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