Shining examples

Apart from being home to many bird species under high-level State protection, such as Elliot's pheasant and the golden pheasant, the reserve also has fine examples of shining beeches (Fagus lucida).

The species can grow up to 25 meters tall in deciduous and mixed forests on karst mountains, beginning at an elevation of 1,400 meters.

The forest of shining beeches in the reserve features numerous old trees with large diameters, and is considered the best preserved and most representative cluster of the species in China.

Although late November is not a suitable season for observing protected plants such as the shining beeches and dove trees, a medium-sized deciduous tree, students were trained to recognize different species by examining fallen leaves. They also acquired knowledge about different habitats when exploring the forest.

Hu Guoxiong, deputy dean of Guizhou University's College of Life Science and a plant expert, said several new plant species have been discovered in the reserve in recent years.

Hu's research team discovered a new species of Burmanniaceae, a family of flowering plants, in the reserve in 2019 and officially named it Campylosiphon saundersii this year.

The result was published in the scientific journal Systematic Botany in October, proving that Campylosiphon, a genus of Burmanniaceae native to tropical western Africa and South America, is also distributed in China.

The population of Campylosiphon saundersii is extremely rare in China and has only been found in the Kuankuoshui nature reserve.

Other new species — including Hemiboea suiyangensis, a flowering herbaceous perennial — have also been discovered by researchers in recent years.

"The discovery of new species signifies better plant conditions and a more diverse habitat in the reserve. Also, as scientific research has gone deeper, new species have been discovered one after another," Hu said.