SYDNEY - A PLANT thought to have been extinct for more than 100 years has been discovered in eastern Australia, an official said on Sunday.

New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the plant, a member of the foxglove family known as the Euphrasia Arguta, was found by a forest worker in Nundle State Forest, in the state's north-west.

The plant's last recorded sighting was in June 1904.

'In botanical terms, this really is a blast from the past,' he said. 'This discovery is central to our aim of ensuring that we look after the flora and fauna in our forests.'