Southwest China reports new distribution area of rare plant

Photo taken on Sept. 4, 2021 shows Hoya burmanica Rolfe found in Longling County, Baoshan City of southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Yu Yunjiang/Handout via Xinhua)

KUNMING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A cluster of Hoya burmanica Rolfe, a rare plant species, has been spotted in its new distribution area in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The plant was recently found by the patrol staff of the Longling Xiaoheishan provincial nature reserve in Yunnan.

Hoya burmanica Rolfe is a succulent plant with lemon-scented blossoms. Its yellow corolla is often shaped like a five-pointed star and the pink inner corolla is also star-shaped, said Tan Yunhong, a researcher with the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The species was originally distributed in northern and western Myanmar as well as eastern India. In 2019, the plant was first spotted in China. Previously, it was recorded at two nature reserves in Yunnan, namely the Tongbiguan provincial nature reserve and Ailaoshan national nature reserve.

The new discovery of the plant in the Xiaoheishan nature reserve helps expand the species' distribution in China and reflects the significance of such reserves in protecting biodiversity, according to Tan.