Kenji Suetsugu

Thismia kobensis is a species of flowering plant from the Thismia genus in the myco-heterotrophic family Burmanniaceae. The type and originally only specimen was discovered in Kobe, Japan, in 1992, and preserved without identification, although it was originally assigned to the genus Oxygyne. No new specimens were found in follow-up surveys between 1993 and 1999, and the plant's original habitat was destroyed by land development in 1999. T. kobensis was declared extinct in 2010 due to habitat loss and deforestation. It was described as a species of Thismia in 2018. In 2021 the plant was

Relictithismia kimotsukiensis is a species of fairy lanterns. It is placed either in the family Thismiaceae, or in the family Burmanniaceae by those who do not recognize Thismiaceae. It is the only species in the genus Relictithismia. This mycoheterotrophic plant is known only from the Kimotsuki Mountains, in the Ōsumi Peninsula, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu Island, in the southern Japan. The species is assessed as Critically Endangered based on IUCN Guidelines.

Gastrodia kuroshimensis is an unusual species of plant that was discovered in April 2016. It is mycoheterotrophic, meaning that it does not engage in photosynthesis like most plants but obtains energy from its host fungi. It is also cleistogamous, meaning that it produces flowers that never open. Since its flowers never open, it is self-fertilizing. Thus far the species has only been found on the Japanese island of Kuroshima after which it is named. Due to its dark habitat and cleistogamous flowers, it is not pollinated by insects, unlike most other species of orchids.

Visit the page for more details.

Lecanorchis tabugawaensis is a species of orchid which belongs to the group of mycoheterotrophic plants. Mycoheterotrophs are known for feeding off of the roots of fungal hosts, instead of utilizing photosynthesis. Myco-heterotrophy refers to the harmonious relationship between particular plants and fungi. After a thorough exploration of the plant's shape, size, and structure, it was determined to be closely associated with orchidaceous Lecanorchis amethystea, although inward variations confirmed this unique species. The plant was discovered in July 2015 by Yamashita Hiroaki in lowland

Sciaphila yakushimensis is a flowering plant in the family Triuridaceae found in Japan, at an elevation of 150 meters. It is a myco-heterotroph, meaning it parasitises fungi to gain nutrients instead of undergoing photosynthesis.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Gastrodia amamiana is a species of mycoheterotrophic orchid in the family Orchidaceae found in Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands, in Japan. The species was first described in 2019, when Kenji Suetsugu of the Kobe University together with independent scientists Hidekazu Morita, Yohei Tashiro, Chiyoko Hara and Kazuki Yamamuro, came across the flower during a flora survey of the islands’ evergreen forests. The species is cleistogamous, and bears fruit without opening its flower.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.

Visit the page for more details.