Researchers Record Ophiopogon japonicus in India for the First Time in Arunachal Pradesh

Key facts

• Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Uluberia Botanical Institute Herbarium, West Bengal, recorded Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb) Ker Gawl in India for the first time, from West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh.
• The specimen was collected in May 2025 during a floristic survey from a moist, shaded forest floor at 2,185 m elevation, along roadside vegetation between Shergaon and Gyuto monastery.
• The findings were published in a peer-reviewed Springer Nature journal in a study titled 'Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb) Ker Gawl (Asparagaceae), a new record for India'.
• Commonly known as dwarf lilyturf or mondo grass, the evergreen perennial is native to East Asia, found in China, Japan, Korea and Nepal at elevations of 200–2,800 m, and its tuberous roots (Ophiopogonis Radix or Maidong) are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• The genus Ophiopogon of the Asparagaceae family has about 85 species worldwide; before this discovery, seven species had been formally recorded from India.
• The newly documented roadside population could face threats from road construction and landslides, and researchers have recommended further surveys and long-term monitoring in Arunachal Pradesh and northeast India.