﻿PLANTS 
  OF 
  CHINA 
  — 
  WALKER 
  333 
  

  

  and 
  Li 
  Liang-ching, 
  last 
  heard 
  from 
  at 
  the 
  Fan 
  Memorial 
  Institute 
  of 
  

   Biology 
  in 
  Peiping, 
  is 
  an 
  authority 
  on 
  fresh-water 
  algae. 
  Dr. 
  Tai 
  

   Fang-Ian, 
  a 
  student 
  of 
  fungi, 
  was 
  at 
  least 
  formerly 
  with 
  National 
  

   Tsinghua 
  University, 
  now 
  joined 
  in 
  exile 
  with 
  the 
  National 
  Southwest 
  

   Union 
  University 
  in 
  Kunming, 
  Yunnan. 
  At 
  this 
  same 
  Union 
  Uni- 
  

   versity 
  is 
  C. 
  Y. 
  Chang, 
  a 
  plant 
  morphologist. 
  Many 
  others, 
  equally 
  

   worthy 
  of 
  mention, 
  are 
  in 
  various 
  places 
  unknown 
  to 
  us 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  

   wartime 
  disruption 
  of 
  communication. 
  Whereas 
  in 
  former 
  years 
  in- 
  

   quiries 
  about 
  Chinese 
  plants 
  were 
  usually 
  directed 
  to 
  some 
  foreign 
  

   institution, 
  now 
  they 
  can 
  be 
  directed 
  to 
  Chinese 
  botanists 
  at 
  home. 
  

  

  Even 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  botanical 
  work 
  is 
  going 
  forward 
  in 
  China. 
  

   Research 
  and 
  even 
  exploration 
  is 
  being 
  carried 
  out, 
  although 
  on 
  a 
  

   small 
  scale 
  and 
  under 
  tremendous 
  handicaps, 
  and 
  scientific 
  papers 
  

   are 
  occasionally 
  printed. 
  Exchange 
  of 
  publications 
  with 
  western 
  na- 
  

   tions 
  is 
  impossible, 
  except 
  as 
  many 
  scientific 
  periodicals 
  in 
  America 
  

   are 
  being 
  microfilmed 
  and 
  sent 
  by 
  mail 
  through 
  cooperation 
  with 
  the 
  

   Cultural 
  Eelations 
  Division 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Department 
  of 
  

   State. 
  

  

  It 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  forgotten, 
  however, 
  that 
  much 
  botanical 
  work 
  on 
  

   Chinese 
  plants 
  is 
  still 
  being 
  done 
  by 
  westerners 
  in 
  America 
  and 
  

   Europe. 
  Dr. 
  E. 
  D. 
  Merrill, 
  director 
  of 
  the 
  Arnold 
  Arboretum 
  of 
  

   Harvard 
  University, 
  is 
  the 
  foremost 
  authority 
  in 
  America, 
  and 
  that 
  

   institution, 
  along 
  with 
  the 
  Gray 
  Herbarium 
  of 
  Harvard 
  University, 
  

   has 
  the 
  finest 
  collection 
  of 
  Chinese 
  herbarium 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  

   States. 
  The 
  United 
  States 
  National 
  Herbarium 
  in 
  Washington 
  has 
  

   many 
  thousands 
  of 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  care 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  writer, 
  who 
  

   is 
  especially 
  interested 
  in 
  the 
  plants 
  of 
  China. 
  The 
  New 
  York 
  Bo- 
  

   tanical 
  Garden, 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  California, 
  and 
  the 
  Missouri 
  

   Botanical 
  Garden 
  also 
  have 
  large 
  Chinese 
  herbaria. 
  In 
  Europe 
  the 
  

   largest 
  collection 
  is 
  probably 
  at 
  the 
  Royal 
  Botanic 
  Gardens, 
  Kew, 
  but 
  

   very 
  large 
  and 
  important 
  deposits 
  are 
  at 
  the 
  British 
  Museum 
  in 
  

   London 
  and 
  the 
  Royal 
  Botanic 
  Garden 
  in 
  Edinburgh. 
  In 
  Berlin 
  

   there 
  was 
  developed 
  a 
  large 
  and 
  very 
  important 
  herbarium, 
  which 
  

   is 
  reported 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  almost 
  completely 
  destroyed 
  in 
  March 
  1943 
  

   in 
  a 
  bombing 
  raid. 
  Other 
  important 
  collections 
  are 
  in 
  Paris, 
  Vienna, 
  

   Stockholm, 
  Copenhagen, 
  and 
  Leningrad. 
  

  

  THE 
  LITERATURE 
  ON 
  CHINESE 
  PLANTS 
  

  

  Ever 
  since 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  Marco 
  Polo 
  and 
  the 
  earliest 
  Portuguese 
  

   explorations, 
  people 
  have 
  been 
  writing 
  about 
  the 
  plants 
  of 
  China. 
  

   There 
  is 
  now 
  a 
  tremendous 
  literature 
  written 
  in 
  almost 
  every 
  Euro- 
  

   pean 
  and 
  Far 
  Eastern 
  language 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  books 
  and 
  periodicals 
  of 
  

   almost 
  every 
  country. 
  It 
  deals 
  with 
  these 
  plants 
  from 
  almost 
  every 
  

   point 
  of 
  view, 
  taxonomic, 
  economic, 
  agricultural, 
  geographical, 
  and 
  

  

  