During a recent joint field survey, the Zhongshan Nature Reserve Management Center and the South China Botanical Garden stumbled upon a large camellia-family tree in the Xiangshan Provincial Nature Reserve. SCBG experts confirmed it as Pu'er tea, a plant under national second-class protection.

Pu'er tea, also dubbed large-leaf tea, belongs to the tea section of the camellia genus. This towering tree can soar up to 16 meters.

Native to various provinces/regions in China, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian, Pu'er tea predominantly thrives in Guangdong's Shaoguan, Jiangmen, Heyuan and Qingyuan cities. Its discovery in Zhongshan marks a first for the city.