Stellaria mcclintockiae

• Context (TH): Researchers have discovered a new species of plant, Stellaria mcclintockiae, from the Nelliyampathy hills, Kerala.
• It has been named after Barbara McClintock, an American scientist who won the 1983 Nobel Prize for discovering ‘jumping genes.’
• This is the first species of the genus Stellaria reported from south India.

Credit: Onmanorama

• Stellaria mcclintockiae is an annual herb growing up to 15 cm in height.
• It is known to be found only in the Nelliyampathy hills at an elevation of 1,250-1,400 metres.
• It differs from the various species of the genus with respect to bracts, sepals, petals, pollen morphology and seed surface architecture.