World's Largest Flora Completed

China is home to more than 31,000 species of vascular plants, more than any country except Brazil and Colombia. More than half of Chinese vascular plant species are found nowhere else, including many, such as Ginkgo and Metasequoia , which were once widespread around the Northern Hemisphere, but now survive only in China. Numerous noted botanical explorers and collectors from Europe, America, and China contributed valuable material to the herbaria of leading botanical institutions and greatly enriched the gardens of the world through their discoveries. The completion by Chinese botanists of the Flora Republicae Popularis Sinicae (FRPS), which outlines the characteristics of the country's huge flora, is an event of great significance; no flora of comparable size has ever been completed. This publication of this work was formally begun in 1958, but it was initiated in the 1930s by Hu Xiansu (better known as H. H. Hu) ([1][1]). Work on the flora virtually ceased during the chaotic “Proletarian Cultural Revolution” (1966-76). After 1978, Chinese botanists resumed and greatly accelerated their efforts, with major financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Ministry of Science and Technology. Finally, after 45 years of extraordinary effort by 312 Chinese botanists representing four generations, the Flora has been completed. It consists of 126 books, which constitute 80 volumes; it includes 31,141 species, 3407 genera, and 300 families of vascular plants. The final part was published in October 2004. The Flora includes all native and naturalized plant species, as well as China's economically important cultivated plants, such as crops, and plants that are grown in plantations. More than 20,000 species are illustrated in the 9000 odd plates of line drawings. FRPS is being entered into a database and will be made accessible through the Internet by the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. ![Figure][2] Rhododendrons in the Kama Valley, or Valley of the Flowers, east of Mount Everest in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. CREDIT: GALEN ROWELL/CORBIS Although FRPS provides an important step forward for the knowledge of Chinese plants, it is based on a relatively short period of study by the nation's botanists. Modern taxonomic research by Chinese botanists was not begun until 1916 ([1][1]), with earlier studies carried out mainly by European and American scientists. As a result, much of the important reference material is held by European and American institutions and was not always easily accessible to Chinese botanists, particularly during the “Cultural Revolution.” The material that Chinese botanists have had available for study is mainly based on that assembled within China, most of it since 1949. Consequently, FRPS has certain deficiencies. Because of these problems, an international collaborative project, the Flora of China project, was organized to produce a collaborative, revised English edition of FRPS. This project involves many Chinese and non-Chinese taxonomists from throughout the world and is supported by various funding agencies in China and the United States, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. National Science Foundation, as well as the C. V. Starr, Kadoorie, and Stanley Smith foundations. Ten volumes of text and ten volumes of accompanying illustrations have been published to date ([2][3]). The project will ultimately result in the publication of 25 volumes of text and 25 volumes of illustrations and is expected to be completed by 2010. By completing FRPS, Chinese botanists have made a great contribution to the understanding of the world's plants and have laid a more secure foundation for their conservation and sustainable use. Given the rapid development of China's economy and the consequent pressures on natural resources, this information is of vital importance. It is also hoped that the Flora may also present a useful model for botanists from other nations that are in the process of developing knowledge about their plant resources and encountering pressures similar to those felt in China. 1. [↵][4] 1. W. J. Haas , Arnoldia 48, 9 (1988). [OpenUrl][5] 2. [↵][6] The volumes are available online at and [www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/asiaprojects.shtml][7]. 3. We thank Xingguo Han, director of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his helpful discussion. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: pending:yes [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [5]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DArnoldia%26rft.volume%253D48%26rft.spage%253D9%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [6]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [7]: http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/asiaprojects.shtml