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It is often said that China is the homeland of the panda, and this national treasure that graces the mainland with its humble and cute image is also known to the whole world.
Of course, in addition to the giant panda as a national treasure, there is another plant species that is also the "only son of the earth" on the mainland, that is, the critically endangered Putuo hornbeam.
However, this critically endangered species has not received enough attention, it is said that there is only one Putuo hornbeam left in the world, and in the protection of this Putuo hornbeam, the mainland is also specially equipped with special personnel to take care of it, and also sent its seeds into space, just to save it.
So why is this Putuo hornbeam in danger of extinction, and what makes it so special?
And what is the situation of the giant pandas on the mainland?
First, the number dropped to 1,100.
Giant pandas are a very famous large bear family in the mainland, they take bamboo as their main food, and at the same time in the wild giant pandas will also prey on some small animals, such as bamboo rats, this way of food combination is because giant pandas absorb less energy in the bear family, through this way to balance the intake of energy.
Giant pandas are large in size and are carnivorous carnivores in the wild, so their territory is very broad, and their range of activity is often between 2,000 and 3,000 acres.
Giant pandas live in forests between 1,200 meters and 3,500 meters above sea level, and their main habitat is the mountainous areas of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and other places on the mainland, but in the wild, there are fewer and fewer places where giant pandas can be seen.
The number of giant pandas is also decreasing, and data from the 70s of the last century show that there were only about 1,100 giant pandas left in the mainland at that time.
At that time, due to the destruction caused by human exploitation, the living environment of giant pandas was seriously affected, which led to the gradual decline of the giant panda population.
In order to slow the decline of the giant panda population, the mainland began to protect the giant pandas, and people also studied the pandas' food, kept the giant pandas in captivity, and allowed them to breed.
In this way, the number of giant pandas has gradually increased, and in 2020, the number of giant pandas in mainland China exceeded 1,864.
Although the number of giant pandas has gradually increased in the process of protecting giant pandas, people have not relaxed the protection of giant pandas, because the living environment of giant pandas is still very poor, and their numbers are not large, so we cannot relax the protection of giant pandas because the number of giant pandas has increased.
Of course, in addition to the giant panda, there are many other plants and animals on the mainland that are also very precious, such as the Putuo hornbeam.
Second, there is only one plant left in the world.
Putuo hornbeam is a precious plant species in the mainland, most of their growth environment is on the island, such as Zhoushan in Zhejiang, Pingtan in Fujian and other places, the number of Putuo hornbeam is also very rare, and this plant species is also very special.
The population of Putuo hornbeam is very scarce, and their reproduction mode is also very special, which leads to the reproduction of Putuo hornbeam is facing very great difficulties, and the seeds of Putuo hornbeam also have their own special characteristics, it is said that there is only one Putuo hornbeam in the world at present, and this Putuo hornbeam is still in Pingtan of Fujian Province on the mainland.
In order to better protect this Putuo hornbeam, the local people are also specially equipped with special personnel to take care of it, and also equipped it with a nanny, so as to better ensure the growth of the Putuo hornbeam.
The seeds of the Putuo hornbeam are very special, they have a very thick shell, and this special shell can play a role in protecting the seeds, so that there will be difficulties in the germination of the seeds.
However, if the seeds are too thick, it will lead to difficulties in seed germination, because it cannot penetrate the shell of the seeds, and the flowers of Putuo hornbeam are also very special, their flowers will bloom at night and close during the day, which makes pollination of the plant very difficult.
Because the flowers of most plants open during the day, which attracts insects such as butterflies and bees to pollinate, the flowers of the Putuo hornbeam bloom at night, so they cannot be pollinated effectively.
Special studies have been carried out to place some pollinating insects around them, but they have not been able to successfully complete pollination, which has led to great difficulties in the reproduction of Putuo hornbeam.
3. Difficulty in seed germination.
The seeds of the Putuo hornbeam are adapted to the climate of the island, and their seeds are also very hard, and this hard seed can play a role in protecting the seeds, which means that the seeds of the Putuo hornbeam can survive for a long time.
At the same time, this hard shell can also protect the seeds from the external environment, so the seeds of Putuo hornbeam are very resistant to storage and can survive for years or even decades.
However, this hard shell also makes it very difficult for Putuo hornbeam seeds to germinate, because the shell of the seeds is too hard, and the seeds of Putuo hornbeam have no dormancy mechanism, so it will be very difficult for the seeds to germinate.
In order to solve this problem, people have also tried to use methods such as sandpaper the seeds to grind off the shells, but this will cause the seeds to be damaged and thus unable to germinate.
Later, people also tried to grind off the husk with concentrated sulfuric acid, but this would cause the seeds to be damaged and unable to germinate, so it was difficult for people to solve the problem of germination of Putuo hornbeam seeds.
As a precious plant in the mainland, the existence of Putuo hornbeam is also very important for the protection of the biodiversity of the continent, and also plays a very important role in the island environment of the mainland and the ecological environment on the island, so we need to make more efforts in the protection of the Putuo hornbeam.
Of course, in addition to the Putuo hornbeam, there are many other plant species that are also very important, so we need to pay more attention to the protection of plants and biodiversity, because this is related to the balance of the entire ecosystem, but also related to the survival of human beings.
epilogue
Therefore, we need to pay more attention to the conservation of plant species, and we also need to pay more attention to the conservation of biodiversity.
Through the protection of biodiversity, we can also maintain the balance of the entire ecosystem, and at the same time, we can better protect the living environment of human beings.