On November 28, the research team from the Qixingkeng Nature Reserve in Enping County, Jiangmen, Guangdong, along with institutions including the China National Orchid Conservation Center in Shenzhen and the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, published their findings in the international journal Ecology and Evolution. Their study formally names and describes a new fern species discovered in the reserve — Angiopteris guangdongensis.
In early 2023, Liang Junjie, head of the Scientific Research and Education Division of the Qixingkeng Nature Reserve, and his colleagues discovered a cluster of unusually large Angiopteris plants. Although they resembled the commonly seen Angiopteris fokiensis, these individuals were much more robust — some reaching up to five meters in height — with significantly thicker stipes densely covered in scales. Morphological comparisons and chloroplast genome analyses later confirmed that the plants represented a previously undocumented species.
Currently, Angiopteris guangdongensis is known only from the Qixingkeng Nature Reserve, where roughly 40 mature individuals have been recorded. Preferring warm and humid ravines deep within the reserve, the species is considered as rare and precious as a "giant panda" of the plant world.
Qixingkeng has so far documented 1,346 species of vascular plants and 624 species of wild animals, highlighting its remarkable biodiversity.
Author: Liu Yue
Photo: Jiangmen Fabu
Editor: Wei Shen, James Campion, Shen He
