Format: ORAL

JInshuang MA

China Natiobal Botanical Garden (North Garden)

China is one of the richest countries in plant biodiversity in the world, not only from taxonomic view but also from horticultural point as well. However, its plant resources are still not very clear today, even Chinese floras has been studied more than 250 years. Especially In the past seventy years, Chinese taxonomists worked very hard and finally finished her first completed flora in Chinese, Flora Reipublicase Popularis Sinicae (FRPS, 1959-2004), with 31180 vascular species in 300 families and 3434 genera, documented first time in the Chinese History of botany. And among them, 233 genera (6.8%) and 16864 (54%) are endemic. More recently, new English version of Flora of China (FOC, 1994-2013), cooperated with Missouri Botanical Garden, in 25 volumes in text plus additional 25 volumes in Illustration, with total 312 families 3328 genera and 31362 species recorded, and it all resources has been online (flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/) as well as in Chinese in China (iplant.cn). Besides above, Chinese taxonomists also finished more than seventy local floras in or above Chinese province level in the past more than half of century. So far, each province in China has its own flora, plus few major natural areas, such as Chinese Desert, Chinese Loess Plateau, and famous Tsinling mountain in central China. In this report, both current situation and future prospect of plant taxonomy and botanical gardens are fully reviewed. Particularly for the huge challenge in conservation biology of plant resources is in front of Chinese gardens, including survey, protection, conservation and utilization. And it has a long way to go for Chinese taxonomists to understand their plant resources well, to fully protect its various plant resources better, and to use them smartly and continuingly purpose. Especially, from conservation view, Chinese taxonomists should more hard work, particularly within botanical gardens both home and abroad.