CHONGQING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Institute of Medical Plant Cultivation of Chongqing said Wednesday that experts have found two new species of Parnassia.

Two teams with the institute and Hainan University found the two plants: Parnassia zhengyuana and Parnassia simianshanensis in mountainous areas in southwest China's Chongqing.

Parnassia zhengyuana, found in a limestone cave near Mt. Jinfo, has special spoon-shaped leaves and undivided staminodes with green apices. Parnassia simianshanensis on the other hand, discovered in Mt. Simian, grows along streams on red sandstone and can be easily identified by its unique rhombic leaves and five- or four-branched staminodes.

The two plants are assessed respectively as "critically endangered" and "vulnerable" according to IUCN criteria.

The discovery has been published in the Nordic Journal of Botany, a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal.