New plant species discovered in SW China

BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have found a new plant species of Gesneriaceae in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences.

The findings, made by researchers from the Spice and Beverage Research Institute under the academy, have been published recently in the journal PhytoKeys.

When investigating plant resources for spice in Yunnan Province in 2022, the researchers found an unknown species of Gesneriaceae near the Sino-Vietnamese border at Jinping County.

By comparing the plant with several known species, the researchers confirmed that it is a new species with unique characteristics such as dense cymes and lack of a corolla spur.

The new species' name, Stauranthera floribunda, means "many-flowered," referring to the large numbers of the flowers.

As the new species is facing a relatively high risk of extinction in the wild, the researchers have suggested that it should be listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.