一生只长一片叶，只开一次花，武侠小说中，它是疗伤神药——独叶草，世界上最孤独的小草，国家二级重点保护植物。

Growing only one leaf and blooming only once in a lifetime, the Uniflora, a miraculous healing elixir in martial arts novels ,is a national second-class protected plant.

这种毛茛科的小草据说起源于6700万年前，作为我国特有孑遗植物其历史比大熊猫和珙桐更为悠久。

Originated 67 million years ago, this small plant from the buttercup family, an endemic relic of China, has even longer history than the giant panda and the dove tree.

独叶草最先由英国采集家于1913年7月在云南德钦采到。1914年由爱丁堡植物园的两位学者发表了新属，为中国特有属种。其后，植物学家在陕西眉县太白山斗母宫东沟采到了该种的果模式标本。

First collected in July 1913 by British collectors in Deqin, Yunnan, Uniflora was then confirmed a new genus endemic to China in 1914 by two scholars from the Edinburgh Botanic Garden and later, botanists collected the fruiting type of this species in the east gorge of Doumugong, Taibai Mountain, Meixian County, Shanxi.

它主要生长在我国四川、云南、陕西、甘肃等地，喜好在潮湿、寒冷、土壤偏酸性的生存环境中生长，大多生存于海拔2200米至3900米间的中高山地区的针叶林或阔叶林中，适应的环境范围狭小，十分隐蔽，被认为是优异生态环境的“天然指示器”。

It grows mainly in Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanxi and Gansu in China, preferring to grow in wet, cold and acidic soils, mostly in coniferous or broad-leaved forests in mid-alpine areas between 2200m and 3900m above sea level. With a small and secluded range of living environment,it is considered a "natural indicator" of an excellent ecological environment.

独叶草的地上部分大约有十厘米高，茎埋在地下，是细长分枝的根状茎。最独特的是，独叶草自顶端芽中生出一片有5个裂片的近圆形的叶子和一条花葶，顶出一朵小花后就再不枝生别的叶子和花了，完全不像其他植物那样枝繁叶茂。

The above-ground part of the Uniflora is about ten centimetres high, with the slender and branched stem buried deep down. Its most distinctive feature is that it grows a sub-circular leaf with five lobes and a scape from the apical bud, topped by a small flower but then does not grow any more leaves or flowers, unlike other plants.

2021年，大熊猫国家公园四川唐家河片区巡护人员在巡护中发现了约300余株独叶草，生长在高大的云杉树和缺苞箭竹绿荫下，小种群稳定、环境适宜，斑块呈现出扩散趋势。巡护员还在独叶草的旁边发现了几团大熊猫粪便，观察到成群的川金丝猴、扭角羚和大片的珙桐纯林。

In 2021, rangers found about 300 Unifloras in the Giant Panda National Park in Sichuan , growing under the shades of tall spruce trees and lackluster arrow bamboo. Because of the small stable populations and suitable environments, it shows a spreading trend. Rangers also found several clumps of giant panda droppings next to the Uniflora and observed herds of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, twisted-horn antelope and large patches of pure dove forest.

人们感叹，在大熊猫国家公园体制下，独叶草的栖息地不断扩大，栖息环境日益改善。未来，它们不再孤独，前途势必更加光明!

In the Giant Panda National Park, the habitat of the Uniflora is expanding and improving. Let’s hope that the loneliest plant in the world will no longer be lonely in the future!