Endangered flower rediscovered in China

Rare parasitic plant last recorded in the deep south of Yunnan in the 1980s

A family of rare parasitic flowers that can match anything found in the movie Avatar recently reappeared in the rainforest of Xishuangbanna in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences uncovered two photos on a local tourist guide's WeChat messaging app in early January that showed an odd mushroom-like flower - flaming red in color - with no leaves or roots of any kind.