Brazil- a photo of an undiscovered plant has made waves in science communities, after an amateur researcher posted it on Facebook. Scientists have then spotted the image, and have subsequently gone on to study the plant's properties.
Reginaldo Vasconcelos, the photographer of the image, is an amateur researcher. He has chanced upon the plant back in 2013, in a forest mountain. The plant has been found by Vasconcelos in Minais Gerais, in southeastern Brazil. It belongs to the family of sundews.
The plant can grow up to one and a half meters in height. Scientists have named the new species Drosera magnifica, translating to magnificent sundew. It has sticky and tangled carnivorous leaves that can grow up to 24 cm, according to a report in Business Standard. Circinate involute leaf vernation is an exclusive trait of the species.
Drosera magnifica can also catch insects as big as dragonflies. It has also been found to be "critically endangered", as it has been found in a single mountain top, where Vasconcelos photographed it. The plant is large and eye-catching, with its reddish leaves. Scientists are wondering why it has not been discovered before. It is said to be the first plant species to be discovered in the social networking site.
Andreas Fleischmann, who co-writes a research paper of the plant, said in a Telegraph UK report, "It is the largest sundew in the Americas and the second-largest carnivorous plant in the Americas. In this respect it is also a spectacular plant."
The authors of the research paper subsequently wrote that the internet is an "important tool" for such discoveries. The web bridges professionals and commoners, the same way it allowed a research enthusiast to provide professional researchers a glimpse of a huge discovery.
As of this writing, research on the plant species is still ongoing.
