A small group of flying spider-monkey tree ferns, a rare tree species, has recently been discovered in Longchuan County, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The number of tree ferns found was more than 100, with an average height of five to six metres.

Shaped like giant umbrellas, tree ferns are scattered among the mountain streams.

Director and senior engineer of Ruili Rare Botanical Garden Management Institute Zhao Xianming said that tree ferns appeared about 200 million to 300 million years ago and were once the food of dinosaurs.

The scientific community called it a "living fossil" for studying palaeontology and the evolution of the earth.

STORY: A group of dinosaur-age tree ferns found in southwest China
DATELINE: June 30, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:01
LOCATION: KUNMING, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of tree ferns

STORYLINE:

A small group of alsophila spinulosa, a rare tree species also known as tree ferns, has recently been discovered in Longchuan County, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The number of tree ferns found was more than 100, with an average height of five to six meters.

Shaped like giant umbrellas, tree ferns are scattered among the mountain streams.

Director and senior engineer of Ruili Rare Botanical Garden Management Institute Zhao Xianming said that tree ferns appeared about 200 million to 300 million years ago and were once the food of dinosaurs. The scientific community called it a "living fossil" for studying paleontology and the evolution of the earth.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kunming, China.
(XHTV)