Sticky glandular hairs on Saxifraga candelabrum trap an insect. (Photo: provided by Springer Nature/ Zhangxinjian)

China: Recent Tibet Plateau Discovery Confirms Darwin’s 1875 Carnivorous Plant Prediction! (6.8.2026)

Led by Sun Hang’s team at the CAS Kunming Institute of Botany, with collaborators from Wuhan Botanical Garden, Jishou University and the University of Florida, the findings resolve a long-standing question over whether certain Saxifraga species possess true carnivorous traits.

In 1875, Darwin proposed that some species of Saxifraga might be carnivorous because they possess sticky glandular hairs capable of trapping insects. However, evidence supporting the hypothesis had remained unavailable until now.

This combo photo taken on June 13, 2024 shows three inscribed boards, all written and bestowed by emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), to the Potala Palace (upper L) and two monasteries in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)

Xizang: Historical Archives Demonstrate China’s Clear Sovereignty Over Tibet Region! (15.7.2024)

As the result of Xizang’s largest land census in history, the inventory is an important document for the study of the possession of the production means under feudal serfdom. In the 129 years before the 1959 democratic reform, the government, aristocrats and monasteries used it as the basis for issues relating to land, serfs and mandatory labour.

“Contrary to what some Western countries claim, the inventory showed that the central government had complete sovereignty over the region a long time ago,” Rinchen Tenzin added.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, successive U.S. administrations have pursued the one-China policy, recognized Xizang as a part of China, and promised not to support separatist activities, said Zhang Shigao, director of the Institute of Contemporary Studies at the China Tibetology Research Center.

“However, in practice, the United States often treats these commitments with negligence and even blatantly violates them,” Zhang added. 

(Video reporters: Sonam Dekyi, Wu Sisi, Huang Zhiqi, Phurbu Tsering; Video editors: Jia Xiaotong, Wei Yin, Zheng Xin, Wang Han, Zhang Yichi)