New Discoveries of Tibetan Plants: 8 New Record Species in China and 1 New Recorded Genera in Tibet
The reporter learned from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on September 7 that the park and the Institute of Plateau Biology of the Tibet Autonomous Region and other units recently published 8 new record species in China and 1 new record genus in Tibet in the domestic core journal "Biodiversity" with the title of "New Data on Seed and Plant Fauna in Tibet, China". This result is of great significance for the study of biodiversity conservation in Tibet.
Pictured: 1, Geelong milk dish; 2. Taki Palm; 3. Kasi Bee Fighting Grass; 4. Spiral tin vine; 5. Jilong Kok Panlan; 6. Nepalese passionflower; 7. Oval ginger flower; 8. Southern Tibetan ivory ginseng; 9. Ivory ginseng; 10. Arrow medicine vine (Courtesy of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
It is understood that the southern slope of the Himalayas in Tibet has rich and unique plant resources, and the famous "Himalayan Five Ditches", namely YadongGou, Chentang Ditch, Karma Ditch, Zhangmu Ditch and Jilong Ditch, are distributed in this area. Due to the input of warm and humid air currents in the Indian Ocean, a unique vegetation landscape has been formed here, with rich biodiversity.
On July 17, 2021, the joint expedition team conducted field survey and collection in Jilonggou. (Courtesy of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
According to the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2021, with the cooperation of the forestry and grassland department of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the park and the Institute of Plateau Biology of the Tibet Autonomous Region jointly carried out plant diversity investigation and collection, and collected wild plant specimens in Jilonggou, Zhangmugou and Chentanggou. In the process of collating and identifying the collected specimens, the researchers found that 8 species of plants, namely Jilong milk vegetable, Taji palm, Kasi bee bucket grass, spiral-flowered tin vine, Jilong horn pan orchid, Nepalese passionflower, oval ear ginger flower, and southern Tibetan ivory ginseng, were the new record species of Chinese distribution in Tibet, and the genus arrow medicine vine was the new record genus of Tibet, and the distribution of ivory ginseng in China was also confirmed.
Xing Yaowu, the corresponding author of the paper and a researcher at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the plant expedition enriched the fauna data and was of great significance to the study of biodiversity conservation in Tibet.
Source: Xinhua Viewpoint
Reporter: Zhuang Beining