UPSC Civil Services Model Paper 3

● Why in News?
◦ Researchers have “rediscovered” this plant species from the Sikkim Himalayas near the Teesta river valley region after a gap of nearly 136 years.
◦ It was thought to have been extinct until its “re-collection”, for the first time since 1875.
● It is a rare and critically endangered plant species.
● It is commonly as ‘ dancing ladies ’ or ‘ swan flowers ’.
● They are characterised by white flowers, non-appendaged anthers (the part of a stamen that contains the pollen) and a “yellowish lip”.
● The species is restricted mainly to Teesta River Valley region which includes the Sikkim Himalays and Darjeeling hill ranges .
● The plant usually grows in a dense colony as a lithophyte (plant growing on a bare rock or stone).