Rare Treasure Plant Discovered in Sichuan's Tibetan Area

About 600 plants of Isoetes hypsophila, a first-level state-protected wild plant, have been found in nine places in Baiyu County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

It is the second time that Isoetes hypsophila has been seen in this area following its initial discovery here in 2006.

The subsistence of Isoetes hypsophila is greatly affected by the shrinking of wetlands, drought and biological competition. Each of the nine distribution places covers an area less than 100 sq m, and in some places, the number of Isoetes hypsophila is smaller than 30.

Researchers said that follow-up investigations aim to discover more about its distribution and habitat in order to better understand how to protect the species.

Shortly About Treasure Hunting

The search for sunken ships and underwater treasure is a standard plot line in Hollywood movies. In real life, the most successful treasure hunters aren’t a band of rough adventurers but companies, sometimes publicly traded, with smooth-talking CEOs.

One such company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, is led by CEO Gregg Stemm, an individual who has earned notoriety in the underwater archaeological community by aggressively exploiting, some would say destroying, shipwrecks.

Odyssey is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the Spanish government over ownership of a sunken ship located some 180 miles west of Portugal in international waters. The discovery became public in May 2007 when Odyssey removed tons of coins from the wreck site to Florida.

Treasure Valued at $10M Discovered in Sunken Pirate Ship Off Coast of Borneo

Not all the pirate news is bad these days. German newspaper Bild reports that Dresden-based treasure hunters have found riches in a pirate ship that sank off the coast of Borneo in 1806.

“At first, everything on the ocean floor looks encrusted and worthless. But when you hold the treasure in your hands, it’s an indescribable rush of adrenaline. You’re witness to times past,” expedition leader Martin Wenzel told Bild, according to German news website The Local.

Wenzel told Bild that divers have so far found 1.5 tonnes of silver coins, gold jewellery, cannons, crystal and porcelain in the wreck, The Local reports. The value of the coins alone is believed to be more than $10-million Cdn.

Over the past two years, Wenzel and his team searched 35 ship wrecks in the area but only two before now turned up anything of value.

The name of the pirate ship that finally paid off? Forbes. That should have been their first clue to its treasure.