The existing rhododendron red camellia, which has less than a thousand plants in the domestic wilderness, has quietly opened in the Gongqing Forest Park

Kiss my baby

In the hot summer, Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park has a kind of camellia in full bloom, it is the "giant panda of the plant world" rhododendron red camellia, the flowers are clustered with branches, adding a warm color to the summer.

What is Rhododendron Red Camellia?

Rhododendron red camellia is a kind of camellia, flowers like camellias, leaves like the leaves of rhododendrons, has a high ornamental value, its native population has been almost extinct due to barbaric excavation, this variety is China's "golden flower tea" after another first-class protected plant, known as "plant giant panda". In recent years, after many kinds of introduction, cultivation and domestication, rhododendron red camellia has broken free from the endangered line.

Rhododendron red camellia flowers are brilliant in color, the filaments are red, the anthers are golden yellow, the flower diameter is more than 8 cm, and the flowers are single-petaled, but dense, and the overall fullness.

The peculiarity of rhododendron red camellia

The leaves are smooth

Rhododendron red camellia is more special than ordinary camellias. Most of the leaves of ordinary camellias have serrations, while the rhododendron red camellia leaves have smooth and intact edges, and their shape and density are similar to those of rhododendrons.

Long flowering period

The flowering period of ordinary camellia is from October to April of the following year, up to half a year, the summer does not bloom, while the rhododendron red camellia blooming period is from May to November, even in the summer when the temperature is as high as 38 ° C, it is still full of red flowers, very delicate, if cultivated well, then all seasons can bloom, so there is also a nickname of "four seasons camellia".

At present, there are less than 1,000 existing wild plants in rhododendron red camellia, which has been listed as a critically endangered species (CR) by the Red List of Chinese Species.

What is critical danger?

Critically endangered represents a great risk of extinction and satisfies one of the following five conditions: a population decrease of 80% to 90% over a decade or three generations; a distribution area of less than 100 km2 or an area occupied of less than 10 square kilometres, accompanied by a continuous decline and extreme fluctuation of the distribution area, occupied area, habitat range and quality, subpopulation number, and number of mature individuals; the number of mature individuals is less than 250 and continues to decrease/fluctuate, or the subpopulation structure declines; and the total number of mature individuals in the population is less than 50 Quantitative analysis shows that the chance of extinction in the wild within the next decade or three generations is more than 50%.

Therefore, the protection of the germplasm and genetic resources of Rhododendron camellia is very important in terms of both theoretical value and practical application. Since the introduction of Rhododendron Red Camellia, Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park has been carefully cared for and used in a variety of ways to expand and cultivate, and has now achieved initial results.

Source: Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park