Rare plants are also a big part of the International Horticultural Exhibition now underway in the coastal city of Qingdao. Besides demonstrating the world’s most advanced technology in horticulture and floriculture, the event also offers visitors a chance to see some unusual plant varieties. Among them is the toothed wood fern, which dates back to the age of the Dinosaurs.

About 180 million years ago, the toothed woodfern was the most prosperous plant variety on our planet. They were also a primary source of food for dinosaurs.

Most of the species from that period, including the dinosaurs, have gone extinct. Yet surprisingly the toothed woodfern has survived. But due to geological factors and climate change, their numbers have dropped sharply, and toothed woodferns now only remain in the tropics and subtropics.

Besides the toothed woodfern, more than 2,000 rare plant varieties from over 40 countries and regions are also being showcased at this year’s International Horticultural Exhibition, which runs through October.