JAKARTA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency said Sunday that its researchers had identified a new spiny eggplant species from Kalimantan, underscoring the country's vast biodiversity that remains insufficiently documented.
The findings were published in the journal Taprobanica. The species was identified by researchers from the agency's Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution and the Research Center for Ecology.
The researchers said the species has distinct morphological traits that set it apart from related species in the Solanum genus native to Southeast Asia.
The plant has long been used locally as food in Kalimantan, but initial assessments indicate its limited population could qualify it as vulnerable under International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria. ■
