A view of the wild plants of Tulipa mongolica found in Inner Mongolia autonomous region [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Researchers in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region have found wild plants of Tulipa mongolica, a species that had not been sighted for more than 40 years in the region, Xinhua reported.

The bright yellow flowers, distributed solitarily in Inner Mongolia, were believed to be functionally extinct after the species was last sampled in 1979.

A view of the wild plants of Tulipa mongolica found in Inner Mongolia autonomous region [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

They were found earlier this month in a one-hectare land in the Gogestai Khan Uul National Nature Reserve under the city of Chifeng, said Zhao Liqing, a botanist at the Inner Mongolia University.

Zhao said the discovery is of great significance to China's ecological protection and studies on the country's endangered plants.

Tulipa mongolica is a perennial herb 10-25 cm tall, featuring an ovate bulb and yellow perianth segments. It is placed under state protection in China.