Xizang Snapshots: Do you know these flowers?

Home to a number of endemic species, Nyingchi in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region is rich in plant life. Check out some of these flowers.

Himalayan Mayapple (Sinopodophyllum hexandrum)

Native to southwestern China, it is listed among the second class nationally protected wild plant species. Its root is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat rheumatism and to help with blood circulation. It is in the same family with barberries.

Azalea (Rhododendron spp.)

This belongs to the evergreen group of rhododendrons, whose world centers of diversity are in southwestern China, especially Yunnan Province and southeastern Xizang. 

Note the dark purple-red blotch at the bottom of the upper petal, which acts as "honey guide" for insects to easily get to the flower's nectar gland to collect honey, thus inadvertently helping the plant with the process of pollination.

Thymeleaf speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia)

This is a perennial flowering plant in the plantain family, often distributed in wetlands or alpine meadows. Its pollinators include flies and bees that visit the flowers for nectar. The seeds can be dispersed by attaching onto the wings of birds or the fur of some animals.

Sophora moorcroftiana

Typical of many low-growing high-altitude leguminous plants, these lovely bright blue little flowers have dense spines on their branches, earning it the nickname "Wolf Tooth Thorn." 

Endemic to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and drought- and sand-resistant, it is a highly valued plant resource in local ecosystem for its roles in sand and nitrogen fixation and soil conservation, and also as a precious nectar plant. 

(Photos by CGTN's Zhu Hua)