Ferula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen, a critically endangered perennial endemic to the Ili Valley of Xinjiang, China, holds profound ethnomedicinal and culinary value. Traditionally known as “Chou-Awei,” it has been used for over a millennium in Uyghur and Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat digestive, respiratory, and inflammatory complaints. Recent phytochemical studies confirm its rich reservoir of bioactive sesquiterpene coumarins with demonstrated anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Despite its therapeutic promise, wild populations have dropped from ~1,400 to fewer than 133 individuals per hectare since the 1980s due to habitat loss, overharvesting, and intrinsic biological limitations, including a seven-year pre-flowering cycle and low seed viability. To address the urgent need for science-based conservation, we integrated ethnobotanical knowledge with high-resolution population genomics using RAD-seq data from 150 F. sinkiangensis and 79 congeneric F. feruloides individuals. Our analyses reveal that F. sinkiangensis forms a genetically distinct lineage with intermediate nucleotide diversity (π = 0.086), unexpectedly higher than many other critically endangered plant species, suggesting retaining of ancestral genetic variation. Within its single relic population, two elusive but significant subpopulations were identified just 1 km apart, indicating incipient fragmentation. Demographic reconstructions using Stairway Plot show a deep historical bottleneck during the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by post-glacial recovery; however, the recent collapse aligns with anthropogenic pressures. These genomic signatures of survival underscore both vulnerability and resilience. We propose an integrated conservation framework that combines in-situ protection of the habitat, ex-situ seed banking, community-based stewardship rooted in traditional knowledge, and biotechnological propagation (e.g., tissue culture) to bypass reproductive limitations. By bridging ethnobotany and conservation genomics, this study advances the conservation of F. sinkiangensis and offers a study model for conserving other high-value, climate-vulnerable medicinal flora in arid ecosystems across Central Asia.
 

Ferula sinkiangensis, Traditional knowledge, Phytochemistry, Genetic diversity, Conservation implications