PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE: After pinpointing the tree with laser imaging, a mission to the site carrying a costly camera rig braved tough conditions to capture imagesBy Yang Yuan-ting and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporters, with staff writer
Scientists have discovered a new plant indigenous to Taiwan after correcting a previous identification error, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said on Friday.
The scientists have named the thistle Cirsium taiwanense Y. H. Tseng & Chih Y. Chang, after members of the National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) research team that discovered the flower in collaboration with the national park.
The newly classified plant has spider web-like hairs on the back of its leaves and was previously misidentified as a thistle discovered by Japanese botanist Shiro Kitamura, the headquarters said.
During its monthly field trips to the park, the research team discovered subtle differences
Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Two Taiwanese botanists recently identified a new alpine plume thistle species in Shei-pa National Park and named it after Taiwan in the hope that it will no longer be confused with another more well-known species, park officials said Friday.
Native truffles harvest-ready in 10 years: TFRI
Staff Writer, with CNA
A native white truffle species discovered in 2018 might be produced on a commercial scale within a decade, the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) told a news conference on Tuesday.
The
Tuber lithocarpii species was discovered by researchers at the institute’s Liugui branch in Kaohsiung and is one of five new truffle species that the institutes forest protection division has found since 2014, it said.
Tuber lithocarpii produces an edible fruiting body after about eight years and can be harvested for culinary use after about 10 years, the institute said.
To grow the truffle, Lin Chieh-lung (林介龍), a research assistant at the institute, said that it must be placed on the roots of a pine or beech tree for at least a year, and then be moved to a plant growth chamber or tree nursery for one-month observation.