Taishan Flower Catalpa (Photo by Han Sen, Yangguang Network)
According to the 2016 Shandong Provincial Forest Germplasm Resources Survey Data, there is only one wild Taishan catalpa left, which has been included in the list of rare and endangered plants in Shandong Province, which can be called a "national treasure". After years of efforts by the technicians of Taishan Forest Farm, 17 plants have been transplanted in the wild, which has effectively promoted the breeding and protection of this rare and endangered plant species.
Taishan catalpa grows in the cliff crevices of Taishan at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, blooming white flowers in spring and red fruits in autumn, and few people know it. In October 1981, Li Fazeng, then a teacher of the Forestry School in Shandong Province, discovered it when collecting plant specimens on Mount Tai, and was officially named Taishan Catalpa in April 1984, because it is a new species of catalpa genus, so it has important ecological and environmental value and scientific research value.
Tarzan catalpa and common catalpa belong to the same genus of rosaceae, but Tarzan catalpa is compared to ordinary catalpa, and its compound leaves grow 1-2 leaflets at the base of the two small leaves, and the flowers and fruits are also different from ordinary catalpas. Taishan catalpa is very "picky" about temperature, humidity and living environment, and its seeds cannot germinate into seedlings on their own after they naturally fall to the ground.
In order to expand the population of Taishan catalpa and gradually remove its endangered status, the technicians of Taishan Forest Farm collected seeds in the wild and solved the problem of sterile seeds at room temperature and the extremely low survival of seedlings in the laboratory. After years of efforts, at present, a total of 122 trees of Taishan catalpa have been bred, and 17 plants have been transplanted into the wild, which has realized the ex-situ protection and return of wild transplantation of Taishan catalpa, and initially lifted the dilemma of the natural endangerment of Taishan catalpa.
Source: CCTV