In the mountains of Beijing, among the slopes of the Songshan Nature Reserve, where wind and sun have tested rare plants for centuries, a long-awaited event took place in the autumn of 2026: the Baihuashan grape produced a substantial harvest for the first time. Workers collected eleven bunches and counted 1388 seeds — a figure that, for a species with only two wild specimens on the planet, sounds like an unexpected promise of salvation.
The story of this plant began in 1984, when researchers discovered an unknown grape species in the western spurs of Beijing — Vitis baihuashanensis. For a long time it remained a unique specimen: the second wild-growing specimen was found only in 2016. Only in 1993 did the new species receive its official name and a place in botanical registries. Scientists were faced with a harsh reality: in natural conditions, only two specimens have survived on the entire planet, both without the possibility of natural pollination. The species found itself on the brink of extinction, becoming a plant rarer than the giant panda.
The first attempts at propagation by cuttings yielded a modest result — only six saplings. Then scientists turned to modern biotechnologies: sterile tissue culture made it possible to obtain an unlimited number of genetically identical plants from apical buds under laboratory conditions. In 2017, twenty-centimetre saplings were returned to the wild in the reserve. Nine years of intensive work followed: protection from frost and pests, round-the-clock monitoring, fine-tuning of growing conditions — and here is the result: the plants not only took root and joined the natural community of the slopes, but also for the first time set ripe fruit on a mass scale.
The seeds from the mother plants turned out to be lighter, while those from the offspring were fuller and more viable. Part of the harvest was left on the vines for natural dispersal, the rest was divided: some was sent for storage in liquid nitrogen in a genetic bank, others — for germination tests next spring. Thus a species, until recently condemned to slow decline, received a real chance for population recovery.
The Baihuashan grape is endemic to Beijing, and Chinese legislation strictly protects every specimen of it. Since 2021, the species has been included in China's List of Nationally Protected Wild Plants, receiving first-category protection status. Any unauthorised damage or collection of its fruit entails administrative liability, and under aggravating circumstances — criminal liability as well.
This case demonstrates the power of targeted efforts in the field of biodiversity conservation. When a species is on the edge of the abyss, an integrated approach — a combination of traditional propagation, innovative biotechnologies and long-term monitoring — can turn the fate of even the most vulnerable plant around and give hope for the restoration of its population in the wild.
