Research News

Recently, a team of scientists from the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka under the leading of Professor Dr. Mohammed Almujaddade Alfasane has discovered an aquatic insectivorous plant species of family Lentibulariaceae Rich. from Bangladesh, which is new to science. The other two members were Prof. Dr. Md. Abul Hassan and Rauf Ahmed Bhuiyan of Department of Botany, University of Dhaka. The name of this new species is Utricularia rosettifolia Alfasane & Hassan sp. nov. The species name has been selected considering its rosette arrangement of leaves. Till now, it is not found anywhere in the world except in Bangladesh that indicates its endemism in this country. The plant materials of this bladderwort species were collected from the Joydia baor, Safdalpur union of Kotchandpur upazila of Jhenaidah district of Bangladesh (Alfasane et al. 2020).

Plants of Utricularia L. are usually recorded to be edible with high nutrient contents. Plants of this genus maintains a natural balance in aquatic ecosystems by taking water-borne insects and protozoa as food. Although yet to be widely researched, the medicinal potential of this species-rich genus is immense. Plants of this genus can be cultivated in nutrient-poor and waterlogged soils. Being sensitive to microhydrological changes this species could serve as a good indicator to predict the health of aquatic habitats. As an insectivorous plant species, U. rosettifolia has an ecological role in freshwater ecosystems. It might have important uses like other species of Utricularia. However, further research is required to be confirmed on the specific role of U. rosettifolia in freshwater ecosystems and its economic uses.

 Reference: Alfasane MA, Hassan, MA and Bhuiyan RA. 2020. Utricularia rosettifolia Alfasane & Hassan sp. nov. (Lentibulariaceae): A new species from Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy, 27(2): 205-2011.  https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v27i2.50661.