Recently, a team of researchers from the Guangxi Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with the Zhejiang Provincial Academy of Ecological and Environmental Science and Design, has discovered a new plant species in the karst region of Sihui, Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. The species, known in Chinese as Sihui Yaoshan gesneriad (四会瑶山苣苔), has been scientifically described as Oreocharis sihuiensis and belongs to the family Gesneriaceae.
The discovery came with an unexpected twist: when researchers first found the wild population, some plants had already been harvested by local villagers, who mistook them for a similar medicinal herb known locally as "stone lotus" (shishanglian) and dried them for use in folk remedies. The team later obtained some of the dried plants, rehydrated and rescued them, and successfully established an ex situ conservation population.
Field surveys confirmed that the species survives as a single wild population, with fewer than 30 mature individuals. No seedlings were found, indicating a sharp decline in natural regeneration. Based on IUCN Red List criteria, the team has preliminarily assessed the species as Critically Endangered (CR), citing its extremely small population, single known location, ongoing habitat degradation, and severe human disturbance.
Photo: Guangxi Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The species was named after Sihui, its type locality. Its Chinese name also reflects the resemblance of its flower shape to Yaoshan gesneriad and toothed-leaf Yaoshan gesneriad.
The findings have been published in PhytoKeys, an international journal of plant taxonomy. The researchers called for immediate in situ protection, habitat restoration, and long-term population monitoring to prevent the extinction of this newly discovered but already imperiled species.
Author | Jiang Chang
