Discover the rich variety of wildlife in Binjiang Forest Park

Word count: 495

Time estimated: 6 min

Binjiang Forest Park, in the northeast corner of Pudong, provides a diverse habitat for wildlife.

Water deer, a native species to Shanghai which had disappeared long ago, have been reintroduced here.

Let's go and see what kind of plants and animals we can find in the park.

Yulan magnolia & Southern magnolia

(Yulania denudata & Magnolia grandiflora)

玉兰和广玉兰

Yulan magnolia

 Southern magnolia

Yulan magnolia and Southern magnolia are two different species with beautiful white flowers. 

Yulan is the city flower of Shanghai. Usually when Yulan is blooming, you can only see flowers without leaves. The Southern magnolia we saw here have bigger flowers, and the flowers often appear together with leaves.

Rough horsetail

(Equisetum hyemale)

木贼 (节节草)

Rough horsetail grow in wet and moist areas.

The stems are hollow.

Rough horsetail, or jiejiecao, is a fern species. They usually grow in wet and moist areas. The stems are hollow and can grow quite tall. Like all fern species, they reproduce by spores.

Phallus rubicundu

红鬼笔

   Phallus

   rubicundus

Phallus rubicundus is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family. The stalk is red, making it easy to spot in the forest. The head of the mushroom is sticky and smelly, which can attract flies or other insects, helping them spread spores.

Dead wood under the forest

朽木

Sawn logs remain on the ground.

 They provide food and

 shelter for insects.

In Binjiang Forest park, we can see lots of dead wood left on the ground. They are an ideal habitat for insects.

Many insects and other small creatures depend on the dead wood for food, safe shelter and a warm place to spend the winter. You can find many different species inside the dead wood.

However, in many parks, the dead wood is usually removed, which is not good for the ecosystem.

Platycnemis phyllopoda

叶足扇蟌

Platycnemis

phyllopoda

Platycnemis phyllopoda is a special-looking damselfly. You can see part of its legs are expanded, so they look like leaves. This one is male. The female does not have this feature.

Water deer

(Hydropotes inermis)

獐

Water deer was a native species to Shanghai. However, they disappeared in Shanghai at the beginning of 20th century.

The water deer we now see in Shanghai are all from a reintroduction program since 2006.

The water deer look like small deer with no antlers. The male deer have a pair of prominent tusks, which are long canine teeth protruding from the upper jaw. The teeth give them the nickname "vampire deer." The teeth are controlled by the muscle. They can withdraw them when eating, and put them forward when fighting with other males.

-End-

Click the pictures to read past stories ↓

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Editor: Su Yanxian
Designer: Shi Jingyun, Li XiaoyingWriter/Video: Hu Jun, Liu Jieyun

Photo: Ti Gong

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