Newly discovered flower named after BLACKPINK's Lisa
By Dong Sun-hwa
Lisa of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK / Courtesy of YG Entertainment
Lisa, the Thai member of the K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, has had a flower named after her.
A new species of flowering plant discovered in Thailand was named Bunga Lalisa, according to the Bangkok Post, Thursday (local time.) Bunga means flower in Thai and Lalisa is Lisa's given name.
This rare plant was found in the southern province of Narathiwat by a group of researchers at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Science. It belongs to the Annonaceae family of plants comprising trees, shrubs or lianas.
“It was named in honor of Lalisa Manobal, a famous Thai rapper, singer and dancer, whose motivation has greatly inspired the first author ― Anissara Damthongdee ― to overcome any obstacles during her Ph.D. studies,” reads the official research report. The researchers reportedly stressed that it should be grouped as Critically Endangered.
“Bunga Lalisa” / Courtesy of Biodiversity CHM Thailand
Led by Thanawat Chaowasku, the research team ran the project in order to delve deeper into the taxonomy and evolution of rare plants in the Annonaceae family in Thailand. It was supported by the Thailand Science Research and Innovation Office and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
Lisa debuted as a BLACKPINK member in 2016 with the album, “Square One.” BLACKPINK, one of the biggest K-pop acts, is scheduled to stage two-day encore concerts at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok ― the largest stadium in Thailand ― on May 27-28. The quartet previously performed in the Southeast Asian country as part of its world tour in January. This tour is expected to draw an audience of 1.5 million.