66 new plant taxa discovered in 2023 in China

KUNMING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-six plant taxa were newly discovered in 2023, according to China's National Wild Plant Germplasm Resource Center on Wednesday.

Of the newly discovered species, 12 were lycophytes and ferns while 54 were seed plants. The number of species in the family of Orchidaceae and Primulaceae accounted for one third of the new species, said the center.

More than half of the newly discovered species were found in southwest China's Yunnan Province and central China's Hubei Province, it added.

According to the center, it has collected and preserved some of these species. It will carry out further research on the preservation and expansion techniques of germplasm species such as rare taxa, in order to expand the preservation of wild plant germplasm species in China and support the conservation of China's biodiversity.

Established in 2017, the National Wild Plant Germplasm Resource Center was built and operated by the Kunming Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.