7 Weird and Wonderful Plants Discovered in 2020 Jan 10, 2021 It seems appropriate that the world’s ugliest orchid made its debut in 2020. Photography Rick Burian 276 Shares For many, 2020 was a terrible year. But if you ask a botanist, they would probably tell you it wasn’t all that bad. In the domain of plant sciences, 2020 was rife with new discoveries. Scientists named more than 150 new plant and fungi species last year—from a flower described as the ugliest orchid in the world to a plant resembling a pile of uncooked French fries. In case you missed them, we’ve compiled a short list of some of the wackiest-looking plants discovered in 2020.