New Begonia species with sparkling red leaves discovered at Basar in Arunachal | Guwahati News
Itanagar: A team from the State Horticulture Research and Development Institute (SHRDI) in Arunachal Pradesh has discovered a plant species of Begonia from Basar in Laparada district.In May 2025, the SHRDI research team discovered the species, SHRDI director Egam Basar said.The official said the noble looking Begonia, with sparkling red coloured leaves, has been identified as a new record in Arunachal Pradesh by Begonia experts Dr Dipoo Dipankar Borah, Dr Momang Taram and Dr Krishna Chowlu of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).Due to its very beautiful leaf colour, it has tremendous potential to develop as a commercial crop, on which SHRDI is currently working, he said.In pursuance of the institutional objective to document and promote indigenous nomenclature for plant species in the state it has been named as Chowna Buku Chulu or Aryarakta in Sanskrit, which translates to ‘noble red’ Begonia, Basar said.The plant has been named Chowna Buku Chulu in honour of Arunachal Pradesh deputy CM Chowna Mein during the technical committee meeting of SHRDI recently.The committee, which included Prof Binay Singh from North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Dr Krishna Chowlu from BSI, Dr Ona Apang from the State Forest Research Institute, Dr Dipankar Borah from Kaliabor College in Nagaon, Assam, and Dr N Velmurugan from CSIR-NEIST, named the plant after Mein who was instrumental in the creation of SHRDI as agriculture and allied departments minister in 2015.Mein led officers from the department to foreign countries to see the research institutes, as he believed that without R&D backstopping, the sector in the state would not prosper, Basar said.He said the deputy CM took personal interest in GI registration of unique agri-horti products of the state, which now has eight agri-horti based GI products, highest in the northeast.As a gratitude to his contributions for the growth of horticulture, especially research and development, the scientific community in the state decided to offer him a living tribute, Basar added.Expressing elation over the development, Mein in a social media post wrote, “Humbled by the gesture of the SHRDI for naming a newly discovered Begonia species as Chowna Buku Chulu (Aryarakta) meaning ‘noble red’ and for acknowledging my contribution towards strengthening research and innovation in the agri-horti sectors of Arunachal Pradesh.”He said the stunning red-leaf Begonia stands as a symbol of scientific curiosity and the spirit of discovery that defines our state.Praising the research team for their work in documenting and promoting the state’s rich biodiversity through indigenous nomenclature, Mein wrote, “It motivates me to further support our scientists, researchers, and farmers in their shared mission to make Arunachal a hub of agricultural excellence, innovation, and sustainability.”
