Text: Vientiane hardcore

Edited by Vientiane Hardcore

«——【·Preface·】——»

New species are being discovered almost every day, and as people continue to explore nature, more and more new species are recognized.

That said, it is not easy to discover a new species, sometimes it may be right in front of you but you can't recognize it, and sometimes it hides in a corner of the mountain and is nowhere to be found.

In the 80s of the last century, in the Dabie Mountains of Luotian County, Hubei Province, a rare plant unique to this place quietly appeared in front of people's eyes.

And what really recognized it was a medicinal herb dealer.

So how did the herb dealer recognize this new species? What is so special about this new species?

«—[Discover New Species]—»

In Luotian County, Hubei, in addition to farming or working, people will also rely on concocted medicinal materials to subsidize their families.

Because of its proximity to Dabie Mountain, the medicinal resources in the mountain are very rich, and the people here have gradually learned a lot of medicinal materials, and have mastered certain processing methods, and gradually formed a tradition.

Magnolia is a very familiar plant, this plant is more common in the south, and now it is still an ornamental tree, and its flowers can be used in medicine.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the buds of magnolia flowers become a medicinal material after drying, but it should be noted that the buds that have not yet fully opened are used in medicine.

In early spring every year, in February and March, the nearby villagers pick the buds of magnolia flowers, prepare them, and sell them to the herb dealers who come to collect them.

When a farmer in Luotian took the magnolia flowers he had concocted to the medicinal herb dealers, he was discovered by the medicinal herb dealers, which was different from the magnolia flowers he had received in the past.

The shrewd herb dealer thought that the farmer who delivered the herbs had fooled himself with the fake magnolia flowers, and this new species was introduced that had not yet been noticed.

The discovery of the herb dealer quickly attracted the attention of botanists, and under the tracking and research of experts, it was discovered that this magnolia flower was different.

After in-depth research on it by experts in 1987 years, it was confirmed that it was a new species and named it Luotian magnolia, which is also a rare plant named after a county in Hubei Province.

At the time of its discovery, the species was listed as endangered because of its limited wild population and narrow range.

2015年4月8日，中國新聞網報導，有人在湖北英山縣也發現了疑似羅田玉蘭，並採集了標本，與羅田縣的羅田玉蘭進行了比對，結果發現二者完全相同。

The distribution range of Luotian magnolia is limited to Luotian County and Yingshan County, and it is an endemic species of Dabie Mountain, especially concentrated in alpine humid woodlands such as Tiantianzhai and Bodaofeng, which is a unique regional plant resource in China.

In 350 years, experts surveyed its population, and the wild plants shared no more than 0 shares, the number is very limited, and its protection is also imminent.

«——【Luotian Yulan】——»

Luotian magnolia is a plant of the genus Magnolia in the family Magnoliaceae, a variety of magnolia, which belongs to deciduous trees.

The biggest feature of Luotian magnolia is its flowers, the flowering period is generally from early 9 to 0 years every year, the flowers are open at the first leaves, the flower color is pure white or slightly milky yellow, each flower is composed of 0 tepals, thick as wax, and the petals are broad.

葉片通常在4月中下旬才開始展出，呈長橢圓形，先端漸尖，邊緣全緣，葉面光滑有光澤，秋季結果，聚合果呈圓柱形，由多個小蓇葖果組成，成熟時裂開，露出紅色種子。

In the natural state, the distribution of Luotian magnolia is relatively sporadic and mostly wild ancient trees, which have not been widely concerned for a long time due to inconvenient transportation and inaccessible people in the past.

And it is not much different from ordinary magnolia, few people can notice, so even if someone has seen Luotian magnolia, they have always used it as an ordinary magnolia.

在羅田縣內有很多的古樹名木資源，但是羅田玉蘭卻十分稀少，超過百年的也僅有兩株，其中一株古樹的情況也不容樂觀。

Some of its roots have been exposed, the base of the tree is hollow, and if it is not maintained, it may soon fall over, and the local authorities have found out about its situation, and the local authorities have backfilled the soil in time to restore its living environment.

And also erected warning signs near the trees, so that people can understand Luotian magnolia and protect the ancient trees together.

In addition to protecting the original woodland of Luotian magnolia, the local authorities are also actively carrying out artificial breeding.

Since 3 years, Luotian County has begun to try artificial breeding, and has established 0 artificial breeding bases in the Bodaofeng Forest Farm in Dabie Mountain, specializing in the seedling breeding of Luotian magnolia.

The artificial breeding of Luotian magnolia is not easy, whether it is seed propagation or cuttings survival rate is not high, in 10 years, the breeding base successfully used seeds to breed the first 0 seedlings, and the seed emergence rate is less than 0%.

The success rate of cuttings is even lower, with only 3 of the thousands of shoots surviving.

不過人們並沒有就此放棄，反而一直都在嘗試，到2024年，羅田玉蘭的人工繁育植株已經突破了萬株。

After the success of the seedlings, people are also actively trying to return to the wild, transplanting the artificially bred seedlings into the wild to expand the wild population of Luotian magnolia.

As an endemic species of Dabie Mountain, Luotian magnolia has important conservation significance, and each endemic plant plays a unique role in its habitat.

As a part of the ecosystem of the Dabie Mountains, Luotian magnolia is also an endemic species, forming a stable symbiotic relationship with other trees, insects and birds.

As a unique variant plant in China, Luotian magnolia has valuable genetic resource value, which provides rare materials for the study of plant evolution.

Magnolia itself is ornamental, Luotian magnolia is an endemic species of Dabie Mountain, is a feature of the development of local tourism resources, can not only play a role in publicity, but also help local income.

Although the ecological and ornamental value of Luotian magnolia has attracted increasing attention, its wild habitat still faces a series of challenges, and it is necessary to strengthen in situ conservation and artificial breeding so that they can bloom on the Dabie Mountain.

Reference:

央廣網《大別山瀕危植物羅田玉蘭人工繁育超萬株》，2024-11-3

China News Network, "Yingshan Discovers Precious Plants Luotian Magnolia Endemic to Dabie Mountain Area", 8-0-0

Luotian County People's Government "New Hope! Dabie Mountain Luotian Yulan Breeding Success", 23-0-0