Nirmal Purja ‘Nimsdai’s legacy will live on not only in the mountains he climbed and the environmental campaigns he championed, but in the form of a small flowering plant named after him.

The newly identified species of Impatiens, commonly known in Nepal as tiuri, has been named Impatiens nimspurjai in honour of the record-breaking Nepali mountaineer, who died last month in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.

The name nimspurjai combines Purja’s name, “Nims Purja”, with “jai”, the Nepali word for jasmine. The name is intended to evoke the idea of Nims Purja’s name spreading across the world like the fragrance of jasmine, giving nimspurjai a symbolic meaning beyond its botanical classification.

The plant was identified by botanists Bhakta Bahadur Raskoti and Rita Ale in Nepal’s western Myagdi district. It grows on moist, humid slopes and forest margins at elevations of about 2,800 to 2,900 metres.

Raskoti first encountered the plant during a botanical survey in 2011. Its distinctive characteristics did not match any known species in the Impatiens catalogue, prompting a decade of further morphological and molecular research before it was confirmed as new to science.

The 57-page study describing the species was published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

Raskoti said the decision to name the plant after Purja reflected the climber’s efforts to protect the Himalayan environment and raise awareness of climate change.

“I never had the opportunity to meet Nimsdai personally. My connection with him was through his work, his achievements, and the inspiration he gave to so many people. Although I never met him, I deeply admired his courage, determination, and commitment to the Himalayas and the environment. That is why I felt it was meaningful to honour him by naming a new plant species after him” Raskoti told Everest Chronicle.

Purja, who climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in a record six months in 2019, later turned some of his attention to the environmental cost of mountaineering.

He founded the Nimsdai Foundation in 2021 and led clean-up campaigns on some of the world’s highest mountains, including Everest, K2 and Manaslu. On Manaslu, his team collected more than 500 kilograms of discarded ropes, oxygen cylinders, bottles and cans.

His environmental advocacy also featured in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks, which chronicled his record-breaking ascent of the world’s highest mountains.

“I was deeply saddened and honestly quite shaken when I heard the news. When I dedicated the species to Nirmal Purja, it was my way of recognizing his extraordinary courage, determination, and contribution to Nepal’s identity on the world stage. I never imagined that one day I would be speaking about him in the past tense. It is a very painful loss. But I also feel that the species bearing his name now carries a small part of his legacy forward. Just as a plant continues to grow and endure in the mountains, I hope his name and the values he represented—courage, resilience and determination—will continue to live on through this species and through the people he inspired,” said Raskoti

“Purja was extremely famous when we conducted our research, but more importantly, he was contributing to mountain conservation,” he said.

The species is closely related to Impatiens harae, Impatiens radiata and Impatiens wallichii, but differs in several morphological characteristics, including its sessile oblong-lanceolate leaves.

The specimens collected by the researchers have been deposited at Nepal’s National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories in Godavari and the Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium.

For Purja, the distinction is particularly apt. His fame was built on the highest mountains on earth, while his later work sought to preserve them.

The plant bearing his name grows far below the summits he conquered — but in the same Himalayan landscape he spent much of his life urging others to protect.

“I see Nirmal Purja as a person of extraordinary courage, determination and resilience. His achievements in the mountains are remarkable, but I believe his contribution goes far beyond climbing records. He showed the world what a person is capable of and inspired countless people to believe that even seemingly impossible challenges can be overcome.

At the same time, he used his platform to raise awareness about climate change and the rapidly changing Himalayan environment. He understood that the mountains are not only places of adventure and achievement, but fragile ecosystems that are increasingly threatened by climate change. His voice for the protection of the Himalayas and their environment was therefore particularly important.

For me, this makes his legacy even more meaningful. He represented courage and determination, but also a responsibility toward the mountains and the natural world. That is one of the reasons I felt honoured to associate his name with a new plant species from Nepal. I hope the species will carry not only his name, but also the spirit of resilience and respect for the Himalayan environment that he represented,” said Raskoti