Botanist CHEN Huanyong, the founder of South China Botanical Garden

A newly released book named Botanist CHEN Huanyong: story of SCBG’s founder is published by South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCBG,CAS).

Prof. CHEN Huanyong (Woon-Young Chun, 陈焕镛, 1890–1971), a leading botanist and taxonomist, who started a new era for the modern plant science in China and made a great contribution to the plant taxonomy, botany and horticulture of China, especially in Southern China. He was one of the first academicians of CAS, a member of the first, second and third China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), one of the first editors of Flora of Republicae Popularis Sinicae (FRPS, Flora of China). He was also a leading character in the history of botanical collection by Chinese botanists, published 11 new genera and more than five hundred new taxa and new combinations, including the famous “living fossil” plant—Cathaya argyrophylla Chun et Kuang.

He built up one of the first modern herbariums in China, became the founder and first director of SCBG (formerly known as the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, Sun Yat-Sen University) and Guangxi Institute of Plant Research. Moreover, he established China’s the first national nature reserve Dinghushan Arboretum.

He launched the first English taxonomic journal Sunyatsenia in China, co-founded the Botanical Society of China, and served as the editor and president of The Chinese Journal of Botany. He is one of the most outstanding scientists in the field of botany and taxonomy in early modern China.

As one of the series of books on national education for teenagers, this book is meticulously edited and published in the form of short stories with illustrations and "audio+book" multimedia approach. It tells the story of CHEN Huanyong, who continuously explored and develop in the field of plant taxonomy, and was committed to developing, utilizing, and protecting the rich plant resources of China. Through the touching stories of scientists, teenagers can learn the great development of plant science in China, as well as the huge changes that have occurred in forestry and ecological conservation in China.