Chinese experts complete reintroduction of endangered orchid

CHENGDU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have successfully completed the first reintroduction of holcoglossum omeiense, an endangered orchid species on Mount Emei, southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the Emei scenic spot management bureau Wednesday.

A total of 1,000 holcoglossum omeiense have been reintroduced to the wild by researchers of the provincial institute of natural resources sciences after years of efforts since 2017.

Considering the great difficulties of the natural reproduction of the endangered orchid, the research team first carried out large-scale artificial breeding in the laboratory and then transplanted the captive-bred plant into the wild.

According to Gu Haiyan, a research member, long-term monitoring of the plant will be carried out and the next round of reintroduction efforts will be made in April 2023.

With cylindrical leaves and white oblong petals, holcoglossum omeiense is dubbed the "panda of the plant kingdom" as its population in the wild is less than 300. The species was first found in 1963 on Mount Emei.