Flous Taiwania, a kind of precious and endangered tree of the
world, has been successfully introduced into Weishan Yi and Bai
Autonomous County of Yunnan Province. The forest at the source of
the Honghe (Red) River is growing well, according to a recent
article in the overseas edition of
People's Daily.
The local forestry department began growing seedlings of Flous
Taiwania in 1987 with the aim of improving the ecological
environment of the Honghe River source to rescue endangered and
precious species of trees and protect forest resources. After the
seeds were sown and fostered in nutritious growth bags, they were
planted in the field a year later. Of the 12,000 planted, over 85
percent survived.
Now the tallest Flous Taiwania grown in the Weibao Mountain
National Forest and Fuqing Reservoir has reached 8.5 meters, with a
diameter of 0.16 meters. The trees grow by 0.7 meters each
year.
Flous Taiwania is the first-class precious tree species at the
state level, which is rarely found in the world. It grows only in
Myanmar and Taiwan, Guizhou and Yunnan of China. The highest one
can reach 75 meters, equal to a 20-story building.
The tree species has gone through four severe tests of cold climate
in glacial periods and has now a history of over 110 million years.
Other species of the same genus have all died out. Therefore, it is
called a "living fossil".
Flous Taiwania planted in the South Zhao Kingdom period, which
dates back 1,200 years, have been found in Yunnan. Forestry experts
say the Weibao Mountain, at the source of the Honghe River and with
an elevation between 1,700 meters and 2,400 meters above the sea
level, is an ideal place to grow the tree species.
(www.jhzsvip.com by Li Jinhui 05/21/2001)