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Chinese researchers have found Rosa lucidissima, a highly endangered species of Rosa chinensis, commonly known as the Chinese rose, in Guizhou Province, southwest China.
A joint expedition team from Mount Foding Nature Reserve Administration and the Faculty of Forestry of Guizhou University first discovered this species in the Mount Fodying nature reserve in the Shiqian region.
"In a field survey in April, we found four Rosa lucidissima plants at an altitude of about 700 meters above sea level. The roses grow circularly in the trees, with striking red flowers hanging on the bark," said Wu Xu, a team member at the University of Guizhou Forestry College.
As an endemic species to China, Rosa lucidissima is sporadically distributed in southern and central China, and its wild populations are very rare.
The flowers of the roses grow round about the trees, and the pronounced red flowers hang on the threshold.
This species is on China's red list of biodiversity as a highly endangered species.
Botanists believe that this species of wild plant that is under second-class state protection in China is a primitive form of Chinese roses.
Further studies will provide insight into the origins and evolution of these rose plants, which can provide important references to rose genetic breeding and ecological protection.
(Newsline Paper Teams)