Often mistaken for Tianshan snow lotus, many people risk picking it only to find it worthless
A while ago, many people posted online about "taking a spontaneous trip," and many chose to travel and take adventures because of it. Some alpine regions became their destinations. There is naturally nothing wrong with traveling, but as our living conditions have risen, our civility has sunk to the dust. I do not know if you have ever heard of a medicinal herb called "Tianshan snow lotus." If you have not, let me educate you about it. Ordinary plants generally cannot grow among cliffs above 4,000 m in altitude. The extreme cold of minus several dozen degrees Celsius freezes many plants to death before they even sprout, but the snow lotus can stand proudly in the wind and snow amid oxygen deprivation and extreme cold. People all say the plum blossom has a proud spirit, but compared with the snow lotus, it is still far inferior.
The snow lotus grows at very high altitude, generally distributed in the Tianshan Mountains in the northwest of our country. Because it looks very much like a lotus, it earned the fine name "Tianshan snow lotus." Its status in people's hearts has always been very high, and it is regarded as something holy, so you can imagine how high its status is. The snow lotus also has unique value; the whole plant is a treasure, and it has long been a much-followed health tonic, but because its yield is relatively low and it has been endlessly promoted as a "miracle drug," the snow lotus has been picked again and again by people drawn by its fame, bringing it to the brink of extinction.
Today there are explicit regulations that wild snow lotus must not be dug up, yet some people still ignore the law and boldly pick it. Some even go after the "snow rabbit." The "snow rabbit" is similar to the "Tianshan snow lotus," looks alike, and also tolerates extreme cold. It grows above 4,500 m in altitude and can reach about 30 cm at its tallest. Because they are all plants growing in harsh environments, many people often mistake the snow rabbit for the Tianshan snow lotus and risk climbing the mountains to pick it, but the value of the snow rabbit is far lower than that of the snow lotus.
It can even be said that the snow rabbit is worthless, and locals ignore it. But quite a few people of poor morals, in order to deceive consumers, pass the snow rabbit off as Tianshan snow lotus and then sell it to tourists at a high price. Many others do not understand and mistake it for the Tianshan snow lotus, climbing over mountains to pick it for its supposedly high medicinal value. We must understand that an ecosystem is a balanced system. When any plant or animal within the system is gradually reduced by human action, it will harm the entire Earth like a butterfly effect. The snow lotus is suffering extinction, and because it looks similar to the snow lotus, the snow rabbit is also being dragged down. Although it is worthless, it too faces disaster.
The author believes that stories will always awaken conscience. If you care for our shared home, you must resist all of this and refuse to pick nationally protected plants. Do you understand? There are so many lives in the world, and they are participants too!
So in the end, the author says one thing: if you friends go traveling in the high mountains, when you see this kind of wild plant, do not casually pick it just because it looks nice!