Chinese scientists find new plant species in Hubei

WUHAN, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have found a new plant species, namely Astragalus bashanensis, in central China's Hubei Province. The findings have been published in the journal PhytoKeys, sources from the Wuhan Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said Tuesday.

By comparing the plant with several known Astragalus species, researchers confirmed that it is a new species, with characteristics including a spreading pubescent indumentum on stems and petioles, longer petioles, white bracts, whitish or yellow corolla, longer claw of the keel-petal, hairy pods and smaller seeds.

The plant grows in roadside grassland, on mountain slopes, forest edges or under forest canopies at elevations from 600 to 2,160 meters. The number of individuals in each population ranges from dozens to thousands.

According to the botanical garden, the discovery of the plant species has further enriched people's understanding of the diversity of Astragalus, and has positive significance for its systematic classification, evolution and development and utilization.