In a study published in Ecology Letters, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) investigated the relationship between community phytochemical diversity and herbivore-induced leaf damage, by integrating untargeted metabolomics, a plastome-based phylogeny, and a long-term tropical forest monitoring plot of 358 species.

Su Tao, a 41-year-old researcher from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Science, has discovered some well-preserved coniferous plant fossils near Gangkar Town in Dingri County of Tibet's Xigaze city at the foot of Mount Cho Oyu. "We have collected more than 2,000 samples over the years in the Himalayas," said Su. The coniferous plants adapting to tropical environment with low altitude tell a radical change at the current high and cold natural environment in the areas due to the uplift of the Himalayas.

Chinese researchers have found a new vulnerable plant species of the genus Agapetes in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The new species, namely Agapetes lihengiana, was discovered during a botanical exploration in Yingjiang County, within Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture.