“The giant panda in something” is usually used to introducerarespecies. Rhododendron huidongense is called “The giant panda in rhododendrons”

Locals in Huidong County, Liangshan Prefecturediscovered about 3000 rhododendronshuidongense in Laojuntan Township in last year. Rhododendronshuidongense have yellow-green leaves and red bell-shaped petals.The biggest difference between this kind of rhododendron and common rhododendrons is that there are loose stellate hairs on the back of the leaves and leaf-like flower bud bracts on the Rhododendron huidongense.

After verification of many specimens across China and repeated field visits to the natural distribution area of rhododendrons in Sichuan Province, the researchers found that the rhododendron huidongense is only distributed in Huidong County.

Since the discovery of more than 200 rhododendronshuidongensein 2016, the Huidong County Forestry and GrasslandDepartment has designated a special protection area. The local government have taken a series of measures to monitor the growth of Rhododendron huidongenseand the vegetation and environment in the location. For the 3,000 rhododendrons huidongense found in 2021, corresponding protection measures have also been taken.