In April 2019, researchers from South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) of Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted an investigation in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, and found a strange plant. Since there was no flowering at that time, it was impossible to determine which family member it belongs to. Researchers introduced several plants to SCBG for cultivation. After months of cultivation, they finally blossomed and fruited in December 2019.

Based on the comprehensive morphological characteristics and molecular experimental evidence, it is finally determined that this is a unique new species of the family Lamiaceae, and named as Caryopteris alternifolia.

Lamiaceae is a large family distributed worldwide, with about 236 genera and 7180 species. There are more than 970 species of 96 genera of Lamiaceae in China. At present, there are seven species in the world, all of them can be found in China. According to the previous records, there is only one species of the genus in Guangdong. The discovery of Caryopteris alternifolia in Guangdong has made the number of species of this genus in Guangdong reach two and that in the world reach eight. It is the second species of Lamiaceae with alternate leaves in China, which is very unique. It is only found in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, and is endemic to Guangdong Province.

At present, only two populations have been found, and the number of mature individuals is less than 250. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list categories and criteria, it can be listed as endangered (EN), which belongs to the typical plants species with Extremely Small Population (PSESP).

This species has been successfully introduced into SCBG, but its endangered reason needs further study. The related research was completed by CHEN Yousheng of SCBG and XIANG Chunlei of Kunming Institute of Botany.

For further reading, please refer to: https://www.mapress.com/j/pt/article/view/phytotaxa.461.1.8.