Camellia harbors unique diversity along Sino-Vietnamese border. Some species of them are under threat due to human activity. Camellia hekouensis , a native of Hekou, Yunnan, China, was once considered extinct as the previously known “last living tree” died in 2024. Fortunately, 11 in-situ and 32 ex-situ trees have been protected and propagated by the staff of Hekou Administration Branch of Dawei Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan with their great unpublicized efforts. Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggests that C. hekouensis is nest...
