Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

An iPhone Photo Solved A 60 Year Botanical Mystery

A plant long presumed extinct in the wild has been rediscovered in Australia ending nearly six decades without a confirmed sighting. Researchers say the small slender shrub called Ptilotus senarius had not been recorded since 1967 and was effectively written off as lost until new evidence emerged last summer on a remote property in northwest Queensland. The rediscovery occurred back in June when horticulturalist Aaron Bean uploaded photos of an unusual plant to the citizen science platform iNaturalist while working on private land in the Gilbert River region, and the images quickly drew attention prompting botanists to investigate further. The scientists involved in confirming the specimen said that iNaturalist’s impact lies in its ability to rapidly publish observations from hard to reach places and connect them with expert identifiers worldwide, with the platform holding over 104 million verifiable photographic vouchers of plants from around the globe as of July 2025 around the time of Ptilotus senarius’s rediscovery.

Scientists emphasized that iNaturalist especially has become an invaluable tool for recording biodiversity on private property which can often be difficult to access by professional researchers, and without Bean’s June 2025 upload the plant might have remained undetected indefinitely. The ability to capture and share observations instantly has become particularly important for species that exist in very small populations or survive in areas seldom visited by botanists, and while the plant’s population size and long term outlook still require assessment the rediscovery shows that some species considered lost may persist quietly in parts of the landscape that receive little scientific attention. The case demonstrates how digital platforms such as iNaturalist are reshaping conservation work and how routine uploads to the app can produce significant outcomes for biodiversity science, proving that sometimes citizen scientists with smartphones can solve mysteries that have stumped professional botanists for over half a century.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/botany-plant-believed-extinct-half-century-found-queensland-australia-11373400

PrevPreviousRockstar Proves Compassion Matters More Than Secrecy
NextCows Are Even Smarter Than We ThoughtNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

22 Billion Dollars In Funding For California Education

February 3, 2026

California families just received incredible news as schools and community colleges can expect billions of dollars in unexpected new funding thanks to robust tax receipts tied to wealth from artificial intelligence companies, according to Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2026 to 2027 state budget released in January. The biggest surprise is an

Read More
Happy News

The Creatures Thriving In London’s Microclimates Are WILD

February 3, 2026

Most people would never expect to find scorpions, snakes, turtles, seals, peacocks, and falcons living wild in a major city, but London is the only place in the entire United Kingdom where you can encounter all of these species thriving outside of a zoo thanks to a patchwork of hidden

Read More
Happy News

Mill Employees Refuse To Leave Cats Behind

February 3, 2026

When Tawni Marcil found out the mill in British Columbia where she works is closing permanently, her first thought was about the colony of feral cats who have called the worksite home for almost as long as the mill has existed. Marcil is one of 350 workers on Vancouver Island

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.