Chinese researchers announced that they have found a new species of yellow camellia in Funing County, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The flower is named Camellia mingii S. X. Yang by researchers at the Key laboratory for plant diversity and biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The yellow camellia is a rare plant and a subgroup of Camellia Linnaeus with yellow, waxy and shiny petals. It is considered a valuable ornamental plant and a genetic resource for breeding. Yellow camellias are also used in traditional Chinese medicine and tea.

The research findings were published in Phytotaxa.

China's yellow camellia are mainly distributed in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Camellia mingii is a local endemic, currently known only to be found in Funing County in Yunnan Province.

Research and protection work is underway through the joint efforts of Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Forestry Bureau of Funing.