Un ricercatore cinese controlla la crescita di semi di piante a sud-ovest della Cina della Banca di Germoplasma di specie selvatiche istituito da Kunming Istituto di Botanica
A Chinese researcher checks the growth of plant seeds at the Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species established by Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Kunming city, southwest China's Yunnan province, 9 March 2017. A leading Chinese seed bank is expanding to protect endangered plants in China and abroad. The Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Yunnan Province is a research and preservation institution for rare and endangered plants. One of the critically endangered species it protects, the pinus squamata, or Qiaojia pine, only has 29 trees left growing in China. Founded in 2008 and dubbed "Noah's Ark, " the center holds 67, 800 sets of seeds for more than 9, 129 plant species from 45 countries and regions. By 2020, it aims to expand its collection to 100, 000 sets of seeds from 10, 000 species, said Li Weiqi, deputy director of the center. The center currently stores seeds from a third of China's wild plants.