412 Conservation news Although releasing confiscated species into their natural Discovery of a wild population of Orchidantha habitats is potentially important for species conservation, yunnanensis in south-east Yunnan, China releasing wild animals beyond their natural range is a com- plex undertaking that requires careful consideration and sci- The plant Orchidantha yunnanensis P. Zou, C.F. Xiao & Š č entific support, without which release may not only fail to korni k of the family Lowiaceae was described based on achieve the desired results but also harm the local ecosys- living plants in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, tem. In China M. javanica is native only in Menglian and Chinese Academy of Sciences, in . The living plants Menghai counties, Yunnan Province (Wu et al., , were originally identified as Orchidantha chinensis T.L. Wu, Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, , –). Most pangolins collected from Malipo county in south-east Yunnan province confiscated in China have been transported outside their in . However, the authors recognized that the cultivated range, from other regions or countries. plants were not O. chinensis and they were therefore de- We believe that M. javanica should not be released into scribed as O. yunnanensis (P. Zou et al., , Phytotaxa, – most regions of China, for the following reasons: () Most , ). Orchidantha yunnanensis was thought to be regions have a markedly different climate from that of the extinct in the wild because no living plants were discovered species’ natural range, and pangolins have poor adaptability, during resurveys in the location of the original collection. impeding their survival outside their natural range (Wu The species may have been overcollected for medicinal uses. – et al., , Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental During April March surveys were carried out ’ Biology, , –). () M. javanica is a K-strategist, and in south-east Yunnan with the joint support of China s thus the establishment of a sustainable population through National Science and Technology Basic Resources the release of a few individuals outside their natural range Investigation Programme for Surveys and Germplasm is unlikely. () The species often carries multiple parasites Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely Small or pathogens (Yang et al., , Journal of Economic Populations in South-west China (grant no. FY ). Animal [sic], , –;Zhangetal.,, Zoo Biology, Fifteen clumps of O. yunnanensis were discovered in one local- , –) and therefore release into new areas carries ity in Hekou Yao Autonomous County, c. km from the the potential risk of introducing parasites or pathogens. original collection site. With such a small population size () As an alien species M. javanica may have adverse ef- and with poor natural regeneration, O. yunnanensis needs to fects on local ecosystems through predation of, or compe- be categorized as a Plant Species with an Extremely Small tition with, native species such as Manis pentadactyla Population (W. Sun et al., , Trends in Plant Science, , – (Wu et al., , Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, , –). ). In April we collected vegetative material for propa- () As the original source of confiscated pangolins is generally gation and ex situ cultivation in Kunming Botanical Garden; unknown, individuals may be released outside their source several plants have been successfully propagated and are grow- area, with the potential for genetic contamination of native ing well in a greenhouse. populations. Our survey, and information obtained from local people, Several Chinese institutions have made progress in con- indicated that the main threats to this species are habitat servation breeding research using confiscated M. javanica. degradation and poor fruiting. The single known location The species survives well in captivity, and dozens of indivi- of O. yunnanensis is not within a protected area. As the duals have successfully mated and reproduced (Zhang et al., population is facing a high risk of extinction, protection of , Folia Zoologica, , –; , Zoo Biology, , – the known individuals and their habitat is critical, and ). We recommend that the Chinese government estab- research is also required on the reproductive biology and lishes a pangolin rescue and breeding center for this rare poor fruiting of the species. Yunnan Key Laboratory for species. Meanwhile, rescued individuals could be used to Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely conduct conservation and biological research and to estab- Small Populations and South China Botanical Garden, lish an ex situ population. In the future an ex situ population Chinese Academy of Sciences, are now cooperating to could be used for restoration of the wild population within study these matters. Further surveys for the species are its natural range. also required in the karst region of south-east Yunnan and the adjacent area of northern Viet Nam. FUHUA ZHANG ( orcid.org/0000-0002-5179-386X), LEI CAI,ZHILING DAO and WEIBANG SUN Yunnan Key YISHUANG WANG,WENHUA WANG,NA XU and Laboratory for Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with SHIBAO WU ( orcid.org/0000-0003-4683-4919) School of Extremely Small Populations, Kunming Institute of Botany, Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China China. E-mail [email protected] E-mail [email protected] Oryx, 2019, 53(3), 409–414 © 2019 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S003060531900036X Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 24 Sep 2021 at 16:17:46, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531900036X.