Yunnan Flora: Volume 9

Author: Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Yunnan has been a vast and ever-changing mystery since ancient times. Its "mystery" lies in its unique geographical location, diverse ecosystems, and complex cultural structure. It is a vast region where the Himalayas, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the South China Platform, and the northern mountains of the Indochina Peninsula intricately converge. It is also the intersection of the China-Himalaya flora, the China-Japan flora, and the Paleotropical Indo-Malayan flora. At the same time, Chinese culture, the Baiyue culture, Tibetan culture, and South Asian culture converge here, forming a unique eco-cultural region in the world—one with the most complex natural geography, the richest biodiversity, and the most diverse ethnic cultures. Yunnan is a province with the richest flora and biological resources in China. Although its land area accounts for only 4% of the country, it holds more than 50% of China's species diversity, with over 14,000 species of seed plants. Yunnan can be roughly divided into three biodiversity centers: the Himalayan-Hengduan Mountains alpine gully plant community center in northwestern Yunnan, the ancient endemic plant center in southeastern Yunnan (Indochina Peninsula, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi), and the tropical plant community center in southern Yunnan. Yunnan has become a focal point for research on biodiversity, biological resource development, and conservation both domestically and internationally. This book serves as a reference for workers in teaching, scientific research, and production units in botany, agriculture, forestry, horticulture, and pharmacy. Yunnan Flora is a specialized work documenting the wild and commonly cultivated higher plants in Yunnan. It is divided into three major categories: bryophytes, ferns, and seed plants. This volume records 181 genera and 888 species of seed plants in the Poaceae. The book provides brief descriptions of the characteristics of each family and genus, along with a key. It also includes detailed records of the names (Chinese official name, common names, Latin name, synonyms), morphology, distribution, habitat, and other information for each plant. For economically valuable species, their uses are briefly introduced. Half of the species are accompanied by comparative morphological diagrams or full-plant illustrations, totaling 118 images.