Authorities have begun an investigation after a fungus-like object resembling yarsagumba was discovered in Rimigha Hill of Rumba Rural Municipality-3 in Palpa district.

According to Chairperson Bishnu Prasad Bhandari, the suspected specimens were found during a plantation drive while clearing shrubs in the Rimigha Pospakha Community Forest.

“As workers were digging pits to plant orange saplings, they noticed a few organisms that looked like yarsagumba,” he said. The rural municipality has since restricted locals from collecting the specimens or entering the forest.

Division Forest Office Chief Narayan Dev Bhattarai said the specimens would be collected and sent to the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Khumaltar, Lalitpur, for verification.

“They appear similar, even though I’ve seen the photos,” Bhattarai said. “But without a lab test, we cannot confirm what it is.” Rimigha Hill lies at an altitude of 1,800 metres.

Yarsagumba — a rare biological fusion of a parasitic fungus and a caterpillar — typically grows between April and June in high Himalayan altitudes above 3,000 metres. In winter, the host caterpillar dies underground and the fungus sprouts from its head during the monsoon.

The lower part of authentic yarsagumba is yellow and wormlike, around 4 cm long and 4 mm thick, while the upper part resembles a thin brownish stalk about 5–6 cm long. Rumba Rural Municipality’s employment coordinator and forestry student, Rabin Maharjan, said that although Rimigha’s altitude is lower than the usual height required for yarsagumba, the specimens match its shape and colour, prompting the decision to send them for testing.