FLORA AND FAUNA OF CHINA: REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES - BIOLOGY - 2025

The flora and fauna of China is considered one of the most diverse in the entire planet, due to the great extension of the country and its climatic and environmental characteristics.

In China, almost all the plant species that exist in the northern part of the planet inhabit, from the vegetation of the tropical zones, through the temperate zones to the cold ones.

Lotus flower. China

In terms of fauna, China is home to 10% of the world's animal life. From wild animals such as the giant panda, to the almost extinct white dolphin or also called the Yangtze river dolphin.

Representative Flowers of China

In the great diversity of flora in China there are unique species of their kind, that is, they do not inhabit any other geographic space on the planet.

Peony flower

It is considered the national flower. It is located in the western part of the country. Its flowers are brightly colored and its roots are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Lotus flower

This flower represents in the Chinese tradition purity, honor and long life. It grows in the swampy areas of the country and is used frequently in Ayurvedic healing.

It has a peculiarity: it is a flower that hides at night, closes its petals and "plunges under the water" to reappear in daylight and reopen its large petals.

Safflower

Although this plant is also found in India, in China it is cultivated for its culinary and medicinal uses. It is known in Latin America as saffron.

Goji berries

Also known as Chinese Wolfberry, it is a plant whose fruits have been used for millennia in traditional Chinese medicine. In many cases it is thought to be the basis of longevity.

It has proteins, amino acids, vitamins, fatty acids, beta carotene and antioxidant properties.

Representative Fauna of China

Golden hair jumpsuit

This unique and peculiar animal can measure between 60 and 70 cm in height. Its snub nose and beautiful coat make it a very peculiar and unique primate.

They live in the mountainous areas of China and are targeted by poachers for their fur.

Brown eared pheasant

It is located in the north of China. It has a fine "lock" from the base of its beak that extends around its face, which gives it a resemblance to dark circles.

The color of its feathers is brown, hence its name; but it is also common to find species with blue or white plumage. All are indigenous to China.

White flag dolphin

It is the only river water dolphin in China, also called Baiji. It is a dolphin with a long nose and a small curvature at the end of it. Its traditional habitat is the Yangtze River.

It is thought that it is extinct because they have not been visualized in several years, however something similar happened in 1950 reappearing again.

The Tiger of China

It is located in the south of that country and is a much smaller species than those known in other parts of the world.

With a coat very similar to the Bengal tiger, it attracted the attention of hunters and this led to a process of near extinction, as there has been no sighting in the wild in several years.

References

1. Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia. Taken from au.china-embassy.org.
2. Encyclopedia of the Nations - China. Taken from nationsencyclopedia.com.
3. Fauna & Flora International (2017) Taken from fauna-flora.org.
4. X Iberian Aviornis Congress. Pheasants Of The World. Taken from pheasantsdelmundo.com.
5. Plants and Animals in China. Taken from china.org.cn.