Ophiorrhiza jomyi is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it is currently known only from the Vagamon Hills in Kerala.
Ophiorrhiza jomyi is an erect herb reaching 20âÂÂ30 cm in height. The stems are densely hirsute when young and become glabrous with age. Leaves are elliptic-lanceolate, 10.5âÂÂ17.2 cm long, with attenuate-acuminate apices and hirsute surfaces on both sides.
The inflorescence is a terminal corymbose cyme. Flowers are lilac and 14âÂÂ15 mm long, with an infundibuliform corolla. The corolla tube bears a distinctive villose ring internally. Stamens are inserted at the middle of the corolla tube, and the stigma is oblong and papillate.
The fruit is an obcordate capsule containing irregularly angled seeds.
The species was formally described in 2026 by Ebin Padiyara Joy, Sreehari Sivan Nair, and Joby Paul based on specimens collected from the Vagamon Hills in Kerala, India.
It is morphologically similar to Ophiorrhiza eriantha and Ophiorrhiza meenachilarensis, but differs in several characters, including its densely hirsute indumentum, shorter flowers, triangular calyx lobes, and papillate stigma.
Ophiorrhiza jomyi is currently known only from its type locality in the Vagamon Hills of Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It grows in moist, shaded areas of evergreen forest at elevations around 900âÂÂ965 m.
Associated species include Hydrocotyle javanica, Elatostema lineolatum, Oreocnide integrifolia, Ficus amplocarpa, and Lasianthus acuminatus.
Flowering and fruiting occur from May to June.
The species is known from a very limited area of occupancy (less than 4 km<sup>2</sup>) and from small populations of approximately 30âÂÂ35 individuals. It is currently assessed as Data Deficient due to insufficient information on its full distribution.
The specific epithet jomyi honors botanist Jomy Augustine for his contributions to plant taxonomy and conservation in the Western Ghats.