New Rhododendron Species Discovered in South China's Guangxi

New Rhododendron Species Discovered in South China

Chinese researchers have identified a new species of Rhododendron in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. The newly discovered species, named Rhododendron yuanbaoshanense, has been described in a recent edition of the journal Phytotaxa.

Rhododendron yuanbaoshanense is a shrub that grows 1 to 2 meters tall. It has broadly ovate to orbicular leaves with a cordate-auriculate base. The flowers are pink to pale pinkish-purple and funnelform-campanulate to campanulate in shape. These characteristics distinguish it from other species within the genus Rhododendron.

The new species was discovered during a plant resource survey in 2021 near the Guangxi Yuanbaoshan National Nature Reserve. Researchers from the Liuzhou Forestry Research Institute, the Kunming Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Guangxi Institute of Botany collaborated on a two-year research project to confirm that the species was new to science.

Rhododendron yuanbaoshanense is the first new species of Rhododendron from Guangxi to be published in over 20 years. It has ornamental value and over 80 individual plants have been discovered near the Yuanbaoshan nature reserve. These plants are found in the evergreen deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest at elevations of 1,200 to 1,450 meters.