A new extremely dangerous species of golden cypress discovered in Guangxi karst landform area

Journalists learned from Sichuan University that Sichuan University, Guangxi Institute of Botany, and other units recently jointly announced the discovery of a critically endangered new species of cypress, the Guangxi Golden Cypress, which grows in the karst regions of Guangxi. This research achievement has recently been published in the authoritative botanical taxonomy journal "Taxon," adding a new member to the cypress family.

Habitat of subtropical karst forest where Guangxi golden cypress grows (Figure) and morphological comparison between Guangxi golden cypress (Figure, left) and Vietnamese golden cypress (Figure, right). (Courtesy of the interviewee)

In the year, researchers from the Guangxi Institute of Botany first discovered a rare cypress species in the Mulun National Nature Reserve in northern Guangxi, initially identified as the Vietnamese Golden Cypress, which is distributed in Vietnam. However, further research revealed that the populations of the Vietnamese Golden Cypress in Vietnam and southern Guangxi, China, are tetraploid, while the population in northern Guangxi is diploid, with significant genetic differences. Subsequently, based on evidence from geographical distribution, morphology, cellular ploidy, and climatic ecological niches, the research team ultimately confirmed that the population in northern Guangxi is an independent new species, named Guangxi Golden Cypress.

Professor Mao Kanshan from the School of Life Sciences at Sichuan University introduced that Guangxi Golden Cypress and Vietnamese Golden Cypress are highly similar in morphology, but the leaves and branches of Guangxi Golden Cypress are more slender, and its strobili, cones, and seeds are relatively small. It is only distributed in the northern part of Guangxi, with a wild population of less than a hundred individuals, growing in the environment of mountaintop shrub forests in the mid-subtropical karst region of central Asia, which frequently experiences meteorological droughts. In contrast, Vietnamese Golden Cypress is mainly distributed in the northern part of Vietnam and the southern part of Guangxi, China, in a more humid climate environment. Affected by global climate change, the survival environment of Guangxi Golden Cypress is facing further deterioration.

The study indicates that the discovery of the Guangxi golden cypress not only enriches the species diversity of the cypress family but also reveals the unique ecological environment and potential mechanisms that foster plant diversity in karst mountain regions. The research, led by doctoral student Jiang Yuliang from Sichuan University, with Professor Mao Kangshan and researcher Xu Weibin from the Guangxi Institute of Botany as corresponding authors, has received support from multiple national and local scientific research funds.