India, Jan. 21 -- A rare, leafless orchid species last recorded during the British colonial era has been rediscovered in Meghalaya's Khasi Hills after a gap of 175 years, marking the oldest documented plant rediscovery in the state and underscoring the rich but fragile biodiversity of Northeast India.

The orchid, Chamaegastrodia vaginata-often referred to as a "ghost orchid"-was rediscovered by researchers Yalatoor Mahesh, Rikertre Lytan and Ramalingam Kottaimuthu of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Eastern Regional Centre, Shillong, during botanical field surveys conducted under the project Parasitic Angiosperms of Meghalaya. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Vegetos.

The species was located in Lawsohtun, U...