Mo Ganji: Yangbi Maple | Yangbi-Ahorn | Acer yangbiense | No. 243/250 from work group 8/99

Yangbi Maple | Yangbi-Ahorn | Acer yangbiense

Mo Ganji turns toward the Yangbi maple — a deciduous tree endemic to a small mountainous region in Yunnan, China — by letting the single line move toward essence rather than botanical classification or rarity. The line condenses the being into a reduced coherence, setting aside leaf form, seasonal change and growth habit so that presence can surface without illustration. In Ganji’s understanding, the line does not belong to the tree alone; it remains open, reminding us that every form is also a human concept provisionally placed upon a living process.

Acer yangbiense is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. The species is known from only a single wild population near Yangbi County, consisting of very few mature individuals. Its extremely limited distribution makes it one of the most threatened maple species in the world.

The principal threats include habitat loss from agricultural expansion, fuelwood collection, and infrastructure development, as well as the vulnerability inherent in such a small population size. Natural regeneration is minimal, and any disturbance to the remaining site carries immediate risk. Conservation efforts focus on habitat protection and ex situ propagation to prevent total loss.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the maple can be encountered beyond scarcity or endemism. It allows the being to be perceived as a life sustained at the threshold of disappearance, suggesting how continuity in plant worlds often depends on the survival of a single place — and how easily that continuity can vanish once the ground that holds it is altered.