CTG succeeds in seed breeding of endangered plant

Yangtze River Rare Plant Research Institute, a plant research arm of China Three Gorges Corp. (CTG), announced recently that it has succeeded in breeding more than 2,000 Myricaria laxiflora, an endangered shrub species distributed along the banks of the Yangtze River in the Three Gorges area.

This is the second bulk breeding of the plant by the institute since 2018. Experts said the plants are widely used as a traditional herbal medicine for scald and arthritis, and the successful breeding is important for the diversity in the Yangtze River area.

“Seed germination rate is higher than 95 percent and seedling rate exceeds 85 percent this time, setting another record,” said Qiu Liwen from the Yangtze River Rare Plant Research Institute. The institute has so far bred about 55,000 Myricaria laxiflora, of which thousands of seedlings have been planted to their places of origin.