Once thought extinct, a plant becomes star of Wildlife Week at Keralam's Parambikulam

A tiny plant that was thought to be extinct has returned to the spotlight at Parambikulam. Found again in the forest 26 years ago after more than a century without a trace, Haplothismia exannulata is now the inspiration for this year's Wildlife Week photography exhibition.

Titled 'Haplothismia', the exhibition will continue to beckon plant and wildlife enthusiasts to Parambikulam until October 8. Uma T., field director of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, inaugurated the exhibition on Friday (October 2, 2026).

The exhibition features photographs of Parambikulam's wildlife, landscapes and natural heritage. Its theme is "small wonders, wild landscapes, a shared tomorrow."

Visitors exploring the Wildlife Week photography exhibition at Parambikulam on Sunday (October 4, 2026). | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The choice of the plant as the exhibition's name has been deliberate. Parambikulam is widely known for its tigers, elephants and hornbills. But Haplothismia tells a quieter story about the forest: one involving a species that vanished from view and was eventually found again.

The plant was first collected in 1851 from the Parambikulam region. Subsequent searches failed to locate it. Its disappearance led to doubts about whether the species still existed. In the 1990s, it was declared extinct.

Rediscovery

However, the plant was rediscovered during a study in Parambikulam 26 years ago. Botanists N. Sasidharan and P. Sujanapal documented the find in a paper published in Rheedea in 2000. Their study recorded specimens collected in Parambikulam in October that year.

A wildlife photographer explaining some of the photographs at the exhibition at Parambikulam on Sunday (October 4, 2026). | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The rediscovery was significant because Haplothismia exannulata is the only known species of its genus. It is a small, slender, pale-cream plant that grows in shady forest areas on dark, humus-rich soil. It appears during the monsoon season and flowers and fruits around October.

Parambikulam lists Haplothismia exannulata among its rare plant species, reflecting the tiger reserve's wider biological diversity.

A different perspective

The plant's story offers a different way to look at wildlife conservation. The focus is often on animals that immediately attract attention. The exhibition instead draws visitors towards the smaller forms of life that are easy to miss but are part of the forest's larger web of life.

"Wildlife Week is an opportunity to celebrate not just individual species, but the entire ecosystem and the diversity of life that it supports," said Parambikulam Tiger Reserve deputy director Nitish Kumar. "Haplothismia reminds us that every component of the forest has a story and a role in the ecosystem."

Parambikulam Range forest officer Geo Basil Paul said the plant's history was one of the inspirations for naming the exhibition.

"When we think of Parambikulam, we naturally think of its tiger, elephant, hornbill and magnificent landscapes. But there is another world around them: a world of plants, fungi, insects and countless other organisms," he said.

The photographs on display offer visitors views of Parambikulam's wildlife and landscapes while drawing attention to the less familiar life within the forest.

The story of Haplothismia gives the exhibition its central message: even in a forest explored for generations, there are species that can disappear from sight and return with a story that changes what we know about the place.

This Wildlife Week, Parambikulam is asking visitors to look a little closer.