
A new plant species has been added to the Minjiangyuan National Nature Reserve in Fujian, and it has been initially assessed as an endangered species.
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The Minjiang Source National Nature Reserve is located in the middle section of the Wuyi Mountains and in the southeast of Jianning County. It is the source of the Minjiang River, with a total area of 13,226.58 hectares and a forest coverage rate of 91.38%. The reserve focuses on protecting the unique biota in the middle section of the Wuyi Mountains, the native populations of Campanulaceae, southern yew, and the native forest vegetation at the source of the Minjiang River. The reserve published a new species of Jianning yellow quail plant in December 2025.
China News Service, Jianning, Fujian, November 11 (Rao Liying) The international plant taxonomy journal "Phytotaxa" recently officially published a new species of the genus Aristolochiaceae - Aristolochia minjiangyuanensis. This is the second new plant species to appear in the Fujian Minjiangyuan National Nature Reserve after the release of Jianning yellow quail in December 2025, adding a new member to the global vascular plant family.
The picture shows Aristolochia from Minjiangyuan. Photo courtesy of Jianning County Integrated Media Center
Aristolochia from Minjiangyuan belongs to the Aristolochia group of the genus Aristolochia tuberosum and subgenus Aristolochia macrophylla. Molecular studies show that its most closely related species is Aristolochia tomentosa. The genus Aristolochia is the largest group in the Aristolochiaceae family, with more than 560 species recorded worldwide. The calyx of this plant is specialized into a tubular shape, and is known among the people as "pipe vine".
According to field surveys, Aristolochia aristolochia is currently only found in the Minjiangyuan Reserve in this wild population. The number of adult plants in the wild is 50 to 100, which is far lower than the IUCN Red List endangered species. It is initially assessed as an endangered (EN) species and is very rare.
The Minjiang Source National Nature Reserve is located in the middle section of the Wuyi Mountains and in the southeast of Jianning County. It is the source of the Minjiang River, with a total area of 13,226.58 hectares and a forest coverage rate of 91.38%. The reserve focuses on protecting the unique biota in the middle section of the Wuyi Mountains, the native populations of Campanulaceae, southern yew, and the native forest vegetation at the source of the Minjiang River.
Years of continuous protection have nurtured rich biological resources. 2,268 species of vascular plants, 444 species of vertebrates, and 1,425 species of insects have been recorded in the reserve.
It is no accident that two new plant species were harvested in the Minjiangyuan Nature Reserve in a short period of time. The discovery of new species intuitively confirms the excellent ecological background and complete forest ecosystem at the source of the Minjiang River. It is also a powerful result of the reserve's regular baseline survey of biological resources and solid promotion of biodiversity protection. (over)

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