Firmiana major rediscovered in Yunnan

Recently, a group of experts of Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences rediscovered Firmiana major in the Jinsha River basin in Yunnan province. Firmiana major is a national key protected wild plant considered to have been extinct in the natural environment for nearly 20 years.

In 1998, the World Conservation Union categorised Firmiana major as one of China’s unique plants that had become extinct in the natural environment on the World List of Threatened Trees. Therefore, China deleted Firmiana major from the List of National Key Protected Wild Plants in 1999 based on the belief that it had become extinct in the natural environment and no longer needed protection.

This time two populations of Firmiana major have been rediscovered in Ninglang County and Yuanmou County of Yunnan Province along the Jinsha River. The population of Firmiana major in Ninglang County includes more than 1,000 strains and that in Yuanmou County involves eleven strains. All of them are at the immature fruiting phase. 

By Ji Zheng; Editor: Eric Wang