The Complete Book of Chinese Orchids

Author: Chen Xinqi, Ji Zhanhe (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: March 1, 1998
Features: Orchids are a large family of flowering plants, with approximately 700 genera and nearly 20,000 species worldwide. Commonly known as orchids, they are renowned for their vibrant flowers and many species are cultivated for ornamental and medicinal purposes, holding significant economic value. China is rich in orchid resources, with 173 known genera and about 1,200 species. Among wild orchids, there are many world-class floral varieties, such as Paphiopedilum (), Cypripedium (), Calanthe (), Pleione (), Dendrobium (), Cymbidium (), and some species and cultivars of Vanda (), which possess high ornamental value. In recent years, with the rapid development of China's national economy, orchids have emerged as an industry, transitioning from small-scale cultivation of national orchids to modern production of exotic orchids. This has increasingly involved the identification of orchid names, selection of parents, naming and registration of new varieties, and various scientific and managerial issues in the cultivation of orchids.
Furthermore, most orchids are rare and endangered plants, falling under the protection scope of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), accounting for more than 90% of the plants covered by the convention. They are now a crucial component in the conservation of plant diversity. Therefore, it is essential to popularize scientific knowledge about orchids among protected area personnel, customs quarantine officers, the general public, and even primary and secondary school students.
Although many orchid books have been published in China, most only cover dozens of species of native orchids. Clearly, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and practical reference book that includes the entire family of orchids, especially one based on research materials of native wild orchids. To this end, the authors have compiled this book to serve readers. The main features of this book are:
- Comprehensive content, covering many aspects of orchids;
- Primarily based on the authors' research materials, including useful scientific and commercial information;
- Emphasizing scientific accuracy while striving for practicality, balancing academic and practical value;
- Broad readership, serving professional researchers, university faculty and students, flower industry operators, technicians, protected area personnel, customs quarantine officers, and hobbyists.
The book mainly introduces orchid culture and history, morphological characteristics and biological traits, geographical distribution, a systematic account of Chinese orchid genera, specialized discussions on national orchids, other ornamental orchids native to China, world-famous tropical orchids, leaf and flower art, cultivation and management, propagation techniques, pests and diseases and their control, naming and registration, commercial trade and resource conservation, international organizations and other relevant information. It also includes an index of artificial hybrid genera of orchids and their parents, a comparison table of abbreviated genus names for hybrid and non-hybrid orchids, a glossary of wild orchid genera, vocabulary notes, a systematic key to Chinese orchid genera with Chinese names and an index, as well as a Latin name index.
Supported by the National Science and Technology Academic Works Publishing Fund: This book consists of 14 chapters, covering orchid culture and history, morphological characteristics and biological traits, geographical distribution, a systematic account of Chinese orchid genera, specialized discussions on national orchids, world-famous tropical orchids, and other topics, encompassing the entire family of orchids.