One of my favorite plants, Thismia neptunis, is a rare and enigmatic flowering species that has captivated botanists with its unusual biology and mysterious lifecycle. Unlike most plants, it does not photosynthesize. It is a mycoheterotroph, deriving nutrients from fungi in the soil that are connected to nearby photosynthesizing plant.

Thismia neptunis spends most of its life underground, it makes only rare and fleeting appearances to bloom. First “discovered” in 1866, it was not seen again until recently.

Bioverse explores the complex lives of plants and other life forms, drawing inspiration from themes of plant intelligence, symbiosis, hybridity, and evolution.