Half of the rare plant speciesunder government protection in Yunnan Province, southwest China, are on the verge of extinction, according to the latest survey of wild plants.

During the survey which lasted for nearly four years, more than400 Chinese biologists went to 128 counties in Yunnan to investigate whether all the plants on the list were still to be found, in addition to their numbers, distribution and usage.

According to the survey, 45 out of the 85 wild plants listed, or 53 percent of the total, are on the verge of extinction.

Located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Yunnan is well known as the "kingdom of plants." It is an area with the richest variety ofspecies both inside and outside of China. Half of China's rare plant species are located in Yunnan.

Experts attribute the sharp decrease in the number of rare plants to excessive culinary and medicinal use of herbs, mining and environmental deterioration. The extinction of one plant species often leads to the extinction of 30 others, they warn.

Yannan has made remarkable progress in planting ginkgo, bald China fur and other species over the past few years.

However, these efforts cannot replace rare plant protection because only wild plants can carry on their own hereditary gene, says a Chinese biologist.

( People's Daily February 20, 2002)