A large community of an endangered plant species has been discovered in Houhe National Nature Reserve in Central China's Hubei Province, according to the reserve.

The plant, Changiostyrax dolichocarpa, was spotted during a survey conducted by a researching team of Wuhan Botanical Garden (WBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with staff in the reserve.

A rarely large community of about 16 individuals of the species was identified in an area of about three hectares, said Jiang Mingxi, head of the team.

"It was the pleasant scent that brought us to them," said Wang Qingye, a researcher with the reserve.

"When walking along a river, a breeze with a special flower scent passed our way. We traced the scent and found some white flowers in tall trees whose leaves we had never seen before in the reserve," Wang added.

After a close study and comparison, researchers recognized the plant as the endangered Changiostyrax dolichocarpa.

Changiostyrax dolichocarpa is a perennial and endemic tree in China which has been included on the List of China's State-Protected Key Wild Plants since 1999.

An exhaustive field survey for the natural distribution range of the plant was conducted from 1995 to 2005 by WBG of CAS, showing only six extant populations. (Xinhua)