Plant Diversity ›› 2001, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (13): 1-3.

• Articles •    

The Species Diversity of Plants and Agrobiodiversity

PENG Hua   

  1. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Online:2001-12-26 Published:2001-12-26

Abstract: The author indicates the importance of plant resources in agrobiodiversity, the periods of different utilizations of plants in history, and the objective necessity for developing wild plant resources as .eatables and medicines. The authors also refers to the natural characteristics of wild plants, the features of utilization of them, and the current situation of agriculture in SW China. The role of cultural factors on utilization of wild vegetables is analyzed based on their distributions and range of being eaten. The deci-sive factors of markets are also analyzed on basis of the course from wild, ruderal, cultivated plants up to products of intensive farming of Tujia ethnic "Shefan", Houttuynia cordata, several famous wild vegetables used for chafing dishs in SW China. It is made rethinking one coin two sides of enriching the species components in agrobiodiversity by introducing some plant species, es-pecially from far distance. The emphasis should be placed on establishment some fanning cultural reserves for the poor areas, but rich in indigenous farming knowledge and in agrobiodiversity like many foreign countries, because the global may of greenhouse and fashionable cultigens will sweep over all the parts of our country.

Key words: Plant resources