China's land is vast and rich, and it has very rich animal and plant resources. In particular, there are more than 30,000 kinds of higher plants in the wild, ranking third in the world, and there are more than 17,000 species that belong to China. Although the species are so abundant, due to the expansion of human social activities, or the specific efficacy of some plants, some species have become endangered, and they have to take protective measures to avoid extinction.
The following Xiaomei will introduce 20 rare species protected by national laws, with pictures and texts, which is convenient for everyone to know and appreciate, and while lamenting the magic of nature, it can also improve the awareness of protecting wild animal and plant resources.
1. Tianshan Snow Lotus
The Tianshan Snow Lotus is known as a strange flower in the Western Regions, and it only grows in high mountains above 4,000 meters above sea level. Due to its extremely harsh requirements for the living environment, its number is relatively small, and it cannot be planted in other places to survive, so it has successfully become a national second-level protected plant.
So friends who are exploring in the wild or traveling to the Tianshan Mountains, encounter this plant in the wild, we can crouch down to appreciate it carefully, and don't pick it down.
Its outer leaves and petal bracts are layered on top of each other, the color is green or yellow-green, and the color is progressive, gradient, and does it feel like a cabbage?
If Tianshan Snow Lotus could speak, its inner monologue must be like this: "You are the cabbage, your whole family is a cabbage, have you ever seen a cabbage that can survive in such a harsh environment?" ”
▲Do not pick or destroy the Tianshan Snow Lotus
▲Yacon fruit
Is the yacon common in fruit supermarkets the fruit of the Tianshan snow lotus world? Of course not, yacon is a very common rhizome fruit, native to Peru, after a large number of introductions in Taiwan, in order to seek greater benefits from it, merchants gave it a "yacon" trade name, tied it with the Tianshan snow lotus, and also boasted of it as a magical plant that "cures all diseases". But in fact, it is not the tuber of the Tianshan Water Lotus, and it has nothing to do with the Tianshan Snow Lotus.
I guess here, the inner monologue of Tianshan Snow Lotus is like this: "Hmm, take the name of Yacon, just want to climb the relationship with me, dream." ”
2. Bole Tree
The Bole tree is a tree with a tall canopy, straight trunks and excellent materials. Small pink flowers, bunches of early summer bloom, full of pink like Xiaxia, especially eye-catching; autumn fruit ripe, dark red fruit, hanging branches, shaped like a small fairy peach, has a high ornamental value.
Bole tree is a unique tree species in China, is the only tree species in the Bole tree family, tertiary relict plant, known as "the dragon phoenix in the plant", and is listed as a second-class protected plant.
3. Rhododendron dried branches
In previous years, the very popular rhododendron of flower arrangement is actually the rhododendron branch of Daxing'anLing, also known as Xing'an rhododendron. In fact, these branches have been differentiated, and as long as it waits until the spring is warm, it can bloom. Therefore, many people take advantage of this feature of it to purchase its seemingly dry branches and insert them into vases, and over time, it will gradually emerge flower buds to blossom, giving people a beautiful mood of dead wood in spring.
In fact, this behavior destroys the plants in nature, because the rhododendron grows very slowly, only 10 centimeters a year, and it may take decades to grow into a large tree. At present, the practice of picking dried rhododendrons has made a large area of Xing'an rhododendrons end their lives, and it is impossible to restore the previous scene of flowers in a short period of time.
Therefore, the Xing'an rhododendron has been listed as a national second-level protected plant. The major platforms are also not allowed to sell dried branches and rhododendrons, for example, if you go to a treasure to search, you can't find it.
4. Wild orchids
Orchids are national second-level key protected wild plants. All wild orchids, except for the rabbit ear orchid, cannot be dug up at will.
I remember reading a report that since September 2021, several members of the Orchid Association in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, have been illegally digging wild orchids from time to time, and have also taken mining videos and sales videos and uploaded them to the Douyin platform. The Hanzhong public security went down the vine from the platform to confirm the information of the pirates and arrested them. These few people can only confess in the face of ironclad evidence, which constitutes the crime of endangering plants under key national protection, and has been criminally filed.
5. Wild Dendrobium
Dendrobium has had a very good therapeutic value since ancient times, and is known as the first of the Nine Immortal Herbs. It belongs to the same orchid family as orchids, and at present, wild dendrobium is a national first-class protected plant.
If you see wild dendrobium on trees or on stone walls in the wild or between mountains and forests, you must stay away from it, and do not pick or dig it, because those who do it will be fined at best, and may be detained. There are artificial dendrobiums for sale on the market, which are cheap and nutritious, so isn't that fragrant?
6. Goosefoot
Goose paw autumn is a large tree, up to 40 meters high, the leaves resemble maple leaves, more like the paw of a goose, the flowering period is in May, and the fruit period is from September to October.
It has been inscribed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is a national grade II protected plant.
7. Golden Flower Tea
Golden camellia is a yellow camellia variety, red, pink, white camellia is very common, but golden camellia is very rare, is found relatively late, so it is particularly precious.
Foreign countries even call golden flower tea a magical oriental magic tea, also known as the giant panda of the plant kingdom, the queen of the tea family, is the second-level key protected wild plants of the mainland.
8. Metasequoia
Like the silver fir described below, it is also a relict plant that caused a huge sensation in the plant kingdom when it was discovered by botanists in 1944. Because you have only seen this plant in fossils, it is believed that it was extinct during the ice age.
Metasequoia is a national priority protected wild plant.
9. Light leaf fern
Light leaf fern, belonging to the fern family, is endemic to China and is a national first-class protected wild plant. Its number is extremely rare, and it is almost on the verge of extinction at a certain time, mainly because its growth environment is relatively narrow, its growth capacity is very weak, and it is easy to be excluded by other species.
10. Alder
Thoreau is a tree-shaped fern known as the king of ferns, and unlike most other ferns, it is the only fern that can grow into a tree. It has been listed as a First Class Protected Plant in many countries and a Grade II Protected Plant on the Mainland.
11. Tung Tong
It has lived on the earth for more than 60 million years, its flower type resembles a white pigeon flying with wings outstretched, which is endemic to the mainland and is a relict plant, so it is called The Chinese pigeon tree by Western botanists, and it is a first-class key protected wild plant on the mainland.
12. Silver fir
Silver fir, a species of fir tree, Pine family, is most special in that the back of the leaf has a silvery white vent. Before Chinese botanists discovered it in 1955, it only appeared in fossils, so its discovery caused a huge sensation in the plant kingdom.
It is currently listed as a national level protected plant.
13. Putuo goose ear maple
This is an extremely rare and precious plant in China, only China has this plant in the world, and in the case of natural growth in the Putuo Scenic Area of Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China, it is also the only one, known as the "giant panda" in the plant, and is also known as the loneliest tree in the world.
This earthly only child is a national level protected plant.
14. Fluffy saponaria
Fluffy saponaria was originally designated as a second-level protected plant, but later investigations found that only 4 trees in the world were upgraded to national first-class protected plants, which was critically endangered.
15. Tianmu Ironwood
This is also a unique species in China, in Zhejiang West Tianmu Mountain, originally designated as a national second-level protected plant, and later found that the only 5 remaining plants in the wild, is a super rare species, but also an endangered species, it was upgraded to a first level.
16. Guangxi Huotong
This is also a national key protected plant, and only three have survived so far.
Guangxi fire tree it is a kind of tree bark up to 10 meters high gray white, the leaves are widely ovate or nearly round, flowering in June every year, the flowering period is relatively long, the flowering is red flowers hanging all over the treetops, like a burning flame, extremely bright, the color is gorgeous but not bad, with high ornamental value.
17. Look at the tree of heaven
Looking at the heavenly tree, the tree is very tall, can grow to more than 60 meters, the highest can grow to nearly 100 meters, and its branches are straight and do not fork, like those great people who have a firm goal and continue to climb up. It is known as the giant of the forest, the king of all trees.
The Wangtian Tree is a first-class protected plant on the mainland.
18. Wild yew
Yew is a very common plant and is a common green plant in the green belt. But wild yews are not common, and there are even fewer yews like the one that is thousands of years old. Therefore, wild yew trees are listed as national first-class protected wild plants and belong to vulnerable species.
19. Wild mountain red
Some people say that Yingshan red is azaleas, rhododendrons are Yingshan red, in fact, not exactly, rhododendrons, Yingshan red are only a small variety of many rhododendron varieties. Among the more than 900 varieties of rhododendrons, 8 species of wild rhododendrons are listed as national key protected plants.
However, everyone also has doubts, can't tell whether the rhododendrons they encounter are key protected plants, so please control your hands and don't dig wild plants home to raise them.
20. Wild Ginkgo Biloba
Why do the ginkgo trees on the streets become national first-class protected plants, or endangered species?
This is mainly due to the fact that there are very few wild ginkgo trees, belonging to the relict plants, and there are almost no plants in the same family as it. At present, the common ginkgo trees on the street are planted in large quantities through asexual reproduction through scientific means. In layman's terms, the use of cloning technology to create countless clones of this tree has greatly increased its number, but it cannot change its endangerment crisis.
I remember seeing a report that in 2012, a man in Guixi City, Mainland China, was sentenced to one year and five months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined 30,000 yuan for cutting down a 137-year-old wild ginkgo tree.
Therefore, it is still necessary to read more books, read more newspapers, even if you like to raise flowers and grass, like plants, do not casually bring wild plants to your home to raise.