New plant species discovered in southwest China's Sichuan

CHENGDU, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' South China Botanical Garden has discovered a new species of Youngia in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Details of the discovery have been published in a recent edition of Phytotaxa, an international scientific journal.

The new species, which has been named Youngia muliensis, was found growing on a hillside near a highway in Muli County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, according to Chen Yousheng, one of the researchers.

Two other new plant species, Faberia pinnatifida and Sinoseris muliensis, had been discovered previously just 50 meters from the latest discovery site, Chen said, noting that finding three new plant species within such a small area highlights the region's rich plant diversity.