Endangered Yunnan craigia found in SW China

Recently, a wild population of Yunnan craigia, an endangered plant, was found in Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province. With 17 trees in total, the group is currently the largest wild population in the nature reserve.

Staff found the plants on the east slope of the Mountain in the reserve.

Gaoligong Mountain Nature Reserve. /VCG Photo

"During our patrol for biodiversity, we found this species in the protected area as we passed through the Shangjiang Area of the Lushui Section. We found it very strange at the time as there were flowers blooming on the tall trees," said He Guipin, a ranger with the reserve.

Staff sent the samples they obtained to Kunming City for identification. Experts confirmed that the samples were from the endangered Yunnan craigia.

Yunnan craigia in the nature reserve. /

The Yunnan craigia is a deciduous tree, distributed in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Due to habitat loss, this species is in great danger of extinction.

Yunnan craigia is known as a plant fossil. It is currently listed by IUCN as "Endangered" and is under second-class state protection in China.

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