A critically endangered plant, Euonymus aquifolium, has been rediscovered by Chinese researchers during China's second scientific research survey on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, according to the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). This was reported by The Xinhua News Agency.
The Euonymus aquifolium in the wild. Photo by Hu Jun/Xinhua.
Euonymus aquifolium is a rare and vegetatively distinctive species, and the rediscovery by Chinese researchers uncovered the only presently confirmed living individuals more than 110 years after a single gathering collected by British scientist E.H. Wilson in 1908, according to a research article published in the journal PhytoKeys.
The leaves of Euonymus aquifolium in the wild. Photo by Hu Jun/Xinhua.
Researcher Hu Jun shows a specimen of Euonymus aquifolium at Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua/Liu Kun.
"I was lucky. Some experts have been looking for it for more than a decade, and some even fell down mountains during the expedition, but to no avail", – said Hu Jun, assistant researcher of the institute.
During the scientific expedition along the southeastern slope of Mt. Gongga, 15 individuals of Euonymus aquifolium were unexpectedly encountered by Hu Jun and his team members in August 2021.
Researcher Hu Jun conducting a field investigation in Derong County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua.
Researcher Hu Jun checking specimens at Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua/Liu Kun.
Researcher Hu Jun checking specimens at Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua/Liu Kun.
Researcher Hu Jun checking specimens at Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua/Liu Kun.
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