In March 2011, with the support of related research project, members of SHUI Yumin’s research group of Kunming Institute of Botany went to Deqin and Heqing County in Yunnan province working for plant survey for about one week.
Owing to the construction road and unfortunately suffered heavy snow and small scaled rock and mud slides and landslide, the exploring process become relatively difficult. What made people glad was the discovery of two wild flowering populations of the endemic specie Primula caldaria W. W. Smith & Forrest at the valley of Lancang River in Deqin County. The holotype specimen of the plant was collectedby G. Forrest in the northwest of Yunnan province in 1921 andhas been kept in the herbarium of the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden (Forresin 20138, E) . After that, Qinghai-Xizang Exped. collected it in June 1971 in Mangkang County of Xizang Autonomous Region, the specimens (11706) were deposited in the herbarium of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy Sciences (PE); Professor GONG Xun collected it in June 2001 in Derong County of Sichuan Province, the specimen (s.n.) were deposited in the herbarium of South China Botanical Garden,(IBSC).
This two wild populations we found are growing up with an elevation of 1980 meters which is the minimum distribution elevation in the current record, so it is a significant contribution to enhance the wild plant diversity. This specie with apparent creeping stem is very special in Primulaceae, and have high station inbotany systematics. We measured the soil PH, soil moisture, recorded its associated plant and distribution pattern, and the initial investigation of its diffusion and reproduction type discovered that this specie reproduced by both seeds and creeping stem, no abnormal reproduction phenomena were observed. However, there are not very many natural populations distributed in a narrowrange. More intensive studies are needed to explore the main reason for the species being endangered.
Primula caldaria W. W. Smith & Forrest (image by WEN Kai)
Primula caldaria W. W. Smith & Forrest (image by WEN Kai)
