New fungus species found inside rare Sikkim medicinal plant

Researchers have described a new species of fungus, Mollisia sokpayensia, that lives inside a rare medicinal plant of the Sikkim Himalaya, according to reports in The Sentinel and GK Today.

The team was led by Manipur scientist Dr Laishram Shantikumar Singh and included Subecha Rai, Gajanan V Mane, Dr Rohit Sharma and Dr Thounaojam Salvia.

Where it was found

The fungus was isolated from the rhizome of Panax sokpayensis, a rare and high-value medicinal plant related to ginseng. Plant samples were collected in West Sikkim at altitudes of about 1,800 to 2,300 metres.

Mollisia sokpayensia is an endophyte, meaning it lives inside the tissues of a healthy plant without causing visible disease. The finding was published in the 2026 volume of the journal Fungal Diversity, in its series of notes on new species and records from around the world. The work was supported by the Department of Biotechnology, according to The Sentinel.

How it grows

In the laboratory the fungus grows slowly. At 28 degrees Celsius its colonies reached 2 to 3 cm across after six days and about 8 cm after 14 days, turning from brown to blackish-brown on potato dextrose agar.

Why it matters

Endophytes are known to produce a wide range of chemical compounds, some of which become starting points for new medicines. Because Panax plants are prized worldwide for their medicinal properties, the researchers say fungi living inside them could be a source of useful compounds for drug discovery and biotechnology.

They also suggest that growing such fungi in the laboratory could reduce the need to harvest threatened medicinal plants from the wild, where over-collection is a concern.

The discovery adds to efforts to document the poorly studied fungal diversity of the Eastern Himalaya, part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. Scientists say large gaps remain in cataloguing microbes and fungi in the region compared with its plants and animals.

Sikkim's medicinal plant wealth

Sikkim's forests are home to many medicinal herbs used in traditional healing, several of which are under pressure from collection and habitat change. Finds such as this one add to the scientific record of species linked to those plants.