An ornamental plant -- Eremostachys superba -- found only in India and Pakistan, is on the verge of extinction. A study conducted by researchers R R Rao and Arti Garg of the Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute reveals that E superba has vanished from one of its 2 Indian sites, the Rajaji National Park in UP, and the plant population at the other site at Mohand near Dehradun has dropped to just 25 plants (Current Science, Vol 67, No 2).

According to the researchers, if remedial steps are not taken, E superba might breathe its last in the next 4-5 years. Apart from Mohand, the only other reported site for this species is Peshawar in Pakistan.