Rare plant seeds successfully collected in Yichang
2024-07-19 20:07:01
By Ma Yuhan, Yichang Three Gorges International Communication Studio
Researchers from the Houhe Nature Reserve successfully collected over 1,400 seeds of the rare plant species known scientifically as Berchemiella wilsonii (Xiao Gou Er Cha).
After being collected from a cliff at an altitude of over 1,200 meters, some of the seeds were disinfected and treated with gibberellic acid before being sown for propagation. As of July 15, the sowing process was completed.
If successful, this novel method would mark a significant breakthrough in the species' propagation.
Berchemiella wilsonii is a national Class II protected wild plant in China. Currently, only five wild specimens of the plant have been found in this reserve, all growing on cliffs, making collecting the seeds extremely challenging.
In 1907, British botanist Ernest Henry Wilson first collected specimens of the rare plant in Xingshan County, Yichang City.
Since then, no one had spotted it again until June 2021, when Dr. Jiang Mingxi from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found it in Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County.
Located in the south-central part of Wufeng, the Houhe Nature Reserve is one of China's key areas for endemic species distribution.
Researchers from the Houhe Nature Reserve successfully collected over 1,400 seeds of the rare plant species known scientifically as Berchemiella wilsonii (Xiao Gou Er Cha).
After being collected from a cliff at an altitude of over 1,200 meters, some of the seeds were disinfected and treated with gibberellic acid before being sown for propagation. As of July 15, the sowing process was completed.
If successful, this novel method would mark a significant breakthrough in the species' propagation.
Berchemiella wilsonii is a national Class II protected wild plant in China. Currently, only five wild specimens of the plant have been found in this reserve, all growing on cliffs, making collecting the seeds extremely challenging.
In 1907, British botanist Ernest Henry Wilson first collected specimens of the rare plant in Xingshan County, Yichang City.
Since then, no one had spotted it again until June 2021, when Dr. Jiang Mingxi from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found it in Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County.
Located in the south-central part of Wufeng, the Houhe Nature Reserve is one of China's key areas for endemic species distribution.
