A grass roots expert

Botanist without any formal qualification enhances our knowledge of the natural world.

Anyone trekking in the lush mountain areas of Zhuxi county in Central China's Hubei province would be likely to catch a glimpse of a gray-haired man carrying a bag of tools on a treasure hunt for nature's bounty.

Gan Qiliang's life revolves around exploring the wilderness across the province.

"I will survey the plants and collect samples," says the 70-year-old, who clearly knows his way around the woods, despite being off the beaten track, after two decades negotiating them.

He normally leaves for the forest early in the morning and works until dusk.

"If the weather is not right for hiking, I'll stay in the lab, sorting out my notes," he adds.

To date, Gan has managed to identify more than 3,800 plant species in Zhuxi, on the border of Shaanxi province and Chongqing municipality.

The county abounds in verdant forests and is considered a "green gene" treasure trove among experts, including Wu Zhengyi, a renowned botanist in China.

Shibalichangxia National Nature Reserve, one of the key areas of the county, is a site that Gan has frequented the most over the years.

It sits in the south of the county and boasts about 50 mountain peaks, each of which stands more than 2,000 meters above sea level. The vast drop in elevation and lack of people have given rise to an abundance of fauna and flora both in the valleys and on the mountains.

In mid-January, the international botany journal Annales Botanici Fennici published Gan's findings about Hemsleya revoluta, a new species from the county that belongs to the gourd family.

The work resulted from Gan's collaboration with other botanical experts. He first noticed the local plant more than 10 years ago.

"I consulted with a few botany experts who gave different answers," he says. However, he found slight disparities in the appearance of the local plant and the other species mentioned by the experts.