• ‘Discovery: Additions to the Flora of Ceylon’ by Dr. Himesh Jayasinghe launched

The evening of 22 July marked an unprecedented moment in Sri Lankan botanical history. Amidst a quiet buzz of scientists, conservationists, and admirers of Sri Lanka’s natural world, ‘Discovery: Additions to the Flora of Ceylon’ by Dr. Himesh Jayasinghe was launched with resounding acclaim.

Supported by Dilmah Conservation, the publication has been hailed as a “once-in-a-century” event; a monumental 680-page record of rediscovery, filled with over 400 photographs and the documentation of more than 200 previously unrecorded plant species from the island.

Dr. Jayasinghe, a botanist and former civil engineer, has become an unlikely but pivotal figure in Sri Lanka’s biodiversity story. Over the past decade, he has painstakingly combed through fragmented forests, hostile mountaintops, and neglected wetlands to locate species believed to be extinct, and to stumble upon others never seen before.

Miracle of the missing plants

The backstory reads like a botanical thriller. By 2012, the National Red List of threatened plants assessed 177 species as “possibly extinct,” five as “extinct,” and two as “extinct in the wild.” This disheartening catalogue of loss reflected the tragic attrition of Sri Lanka’s rainforests, of which less than 5% now remains intact.

But when the 2020 edition of the Red List appeared, something had changed. Seemingly overnight, nearly 50 species had been struck off the “extinct” lists. “I thought someone had made a mistake,” stated renowned taxonomist and biodiversity advocate Rohan Pethiyagoda. “Then I called Dr. Siril Wijesundara, who confirmed it: They’d been rediscovered – by Himesh.”

Pethiyagoda shared that he was astonished by Dr. Jayasinghe’s encyclopaedic knowledge and the calm precision with which he described his findings. “His grasp of Sri Lanka’s flora was unmatched,” he said. “He recalled the most obscure details from 15 volumes of the ‘Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon’ as if he had read it just yesterday.”

Making of a modern-day Trimen

Dr. Jayasinghe’s path to plant discovery is as unorthodox as it is inspiring. After a career in civil engineering, he left the profession behind in his 30s to pursue what he described as “a lifelong love of nature.” He began with butterflies, publishing two well-received books on them. But while tracing their larval food plants, he fell deeper into botany, a field in which he had no formal training.

Still, what he lacked in credentials, he made up for in rigour. “He wasn’t randomly collecting,” said Prof. Siril Wijesundara. “He was seeking out specialised habitats – treetops, mountaintops, rock outcrops – and that made all the difference.”

Despite limited resources, Dr. Jayasinghe funded his fieldwork through freelance ecological assessments. Recognising the value of his work, a group of senior botanists, including Pethiyagoda, Prof. Wijesundara, and Prof. Nimal Gunatilleke, appealed to Dilmah Conservation for financial support. They agreed to provide a modest monthly stipend, freeing Dr. Jayasinghe to dedicate himself entirely to exploration.

Those explorations paid off.  As of 2024, Dr. Jayasinghe has rediscovered over 100 of the 177 “possibly extinct” plants, three of the five extinct species, and both that were considered extinct in the wild.

A growing floral archive

Beyond these rediscoveries, Dr. Jayasinghe has also added an estimated 210 new species records to Sri Lanka’s floral inventory. Of these, nearly 150 are likely to be completely new to science, narrow-range endemics that exist only in very specific ecosystems, some no larger than a single square kilometre.

Each species was backed by photographic evidence and at least one preserved specimen, now housed in the National Herbarium in Peradeniya. In total, he has deposited more than 3,700 herbarium specimens and taken thousands of photographs, many of which are being made public through the book.

“Most of these newly discovered species haven’t been formally named yet,” said Dr. Jayasinghe at the launch. “That process takes time. I’ve labelled them by genus and a reference number for now – like Memecylon sp. 1, sp. 2, and so on. The goal was to get the knowledge out there, quickly, so others can act.”

A book with national significance

The book is remarkable not just for what it contains, but for the urgency behind its publication. Pethiyagoda stated: “We were haunted by the idea that if something were to happen to Himesh, even something as mundane as a tuk-tuk accident, thousands of pages of priceless data could vanish with him. That’s when we knew it had to be published.”

With over 75% of its pages devoted to colour photography, ‘Discovery’ is both a scientific record and a visual celebration. Many of the featured species, such as Crudia zeylanica, once declared extinct but rediscovered by Dr. Jayasinghe in 2019, are being seen in their natural habitats for the first time in over a century.

Dilmah’s response to discovery

Speaking at the launch, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company Chair Dilhan Fernando described the book as “a milestone in the history of conservation in Sri Lanka.” While the speech itself meandered, his admiration for Jayasinghe was unmistakable.

“What this book represents is not just a botanical triumph,” he stated. “It reminds us of the unseen wealth that still surrounds us, beauty that has gone unrecorded, unnoticed, and almost lost. We are proud to have supported a work that brings 200 species back from the brink.”

Fernando also emphasised the importance of biodiversity to broader ecological and cultural resilience. “Conservation is not just about science,” he said. “It is about identity, memory, and justice, giving nature its rightful place in our lives and policies.”

A legacy in bloom

Dr. Jayasinghe remains humble despite the attention. “There’s still so much work to do,” he stated quietly, when asked what was next. “There are places I haven’t explored yet. Many of these species need to be found again before they’re lost for good.”

In a poetic gesture, he has deposited all his data, photographs, and field notes in the public domain, ensuring that researchers across the world can build on his work. “This isn’t mine to keep,” he said. “It belongs to all of us, to the forests, to the students, to the future.”

It is a future he’s actively shaping. As part of the launch, Dr. Jayasinghe shared that he would be open to collaborating with young scientists and conservationists. “This isn’t a solo story. I hope the next generation will pick up where I leave off.”

In a country so often bruised by loss – of habitat, of history, of heritage – ‘Discovery’ is an act of reclamation. It tells a story of what still remains and what can still be saved. And at its heart is a solitary figure in muddy boots, pushing back the forest leaves to find a flower no one has seen in a hundred years.

Pethiyagoda may have put it best: “Himesh is a once-in-a-century phenomenon. But more importantly, he is a reminder that there is still wonder to be found, if only we care to look.”