Diversity of higher plants in China

Abstract

The Species Catalogue of China: Volume 1: Plants (SCCP) is a new, comprehensive, hardcopy inventory of Chinese higher plants that combines several datasets and references to recent taxonomic treatments. The database, with all attached additional information, is freely accessible via the internet (http://www.sp2000.org.cn/) and on CD‐ROM, and will be updated yearly. It includes bryophytes (157 families, 599 genera, and 3167 specific and infraspecific taxa), lycophytes and ferns (41 families, 181 genera, and 2336 specific and infraspecific taxa), gymnosperms (10 families, 45 genera, and 311 specific and infraspecific taxa), and angiosperms (270 families, 3227 genera, and 35 873 specific and infraspecific taxa); in total 478 families, 4052 genera, and 41 687 specific and infraspecific taxa. Several other important statistics can also be drawn from the database, such as the distribution pattern of the four major groups of higher plants, as well as number of endemic and naturalized or cultivated genera/taxa. Entries in SCCP are also compared with Flora of China, and Flora reipublicae popularis Sinicae at the genus level. The SCCP will not only be a useful reference for floristic or biodiversity studies in China, but will also serve as a key resource to direct action and monitor progress. It is intended to be a useful resource for achieving Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

Geographical distribution and conservation strategy of national key protected wild plants of China

“…Our results indicate that NKPWPs generally show a heterogeneous distribution in which species richness was high in the west and low in the east, and high in the south and low in the north, in agreement with the distribution of higher plants in China 1 and previous results. 47 These results were also consistent with the high biodiversity in southwestern mountainous areas with the high habitat heterogeneity and relatively little disturbance in China.…”

“…Plant diversity in China is among the highest in the world, with more than 41,000 species of higher plants alone, 1 of which about 50% are endemic. 2 , 3 With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, increasing demand for natural resources in China exerts substantial pressure on the environment and conservation.…”

Collections‐based systematics in the new age of discovery: Celebrating the legacy and life of Professor Wen‐Tsai Wang

“…Beyond the tremendous scientific value of the phylogenetic framework of the Chinese flora, the study also identified hotspots of phylogenetic diversity for the Chinese angiosperms at both the genus and species levels; hence, the paper is also of great conservation significance utilizing information of phylogenetic diversity. Xie et al (2021) reviewed and analyzed the floristic data from The Species Catalogue of China: Volume 1: Plants (SCCP), a comprehensive inventory of Chinese higher plants. The database is freely accessible at: http://www.sp2000.org.cn/, and includes entries of 478 families, 4052 genera, and 41 687 specific and infraspecific taxa.…”

Vaccinium dehongense (Ericaceae), a new species of Vaccinium sect. Epigynium from western Yunnan, China

“…China, with more than 41,000 species of higher plants, is one of the countries owning the highest plant diversity in the world ( Xie et al 2021 ). Even now, more than 280 new species were described from China each year from 2020 to 2022 ( Du et al 2023 ).…”