Abstract: There are two big biodiversity centres of Chinese endemic genera of seed plants in Yunnan province: NW Yunnan & SW Yunnan. According to preliminary statistics, the NW Yunnan centre has 47 Chinese endemic genera (belonging to 27 families, among them 19 genera are of monotypic ones, 22 of oligotypic ones and 6 of polytypic ones) which are mainly of temper-ate nature; the SW Yunnan centre has 48 Chinese endemic genera (belonging to 36 families, among them 33 genera are of monotypic ones, 13 of oligotypec ones and 6 of polytypic ones) which are mainly of tropical and subtropical nature. There are 11 Chinese endemic genera which are common to both centres, but 36 genera are only occuring in the former centre and 37 genera are only occuring in the latter centre. The origin cause of these genera in both centres is very dif-ferent. In the former centre it is mainly of ecological reason rather than historical one; but in the latter centre it is mainly of historical reason rather than ecological one. Thus the former centre is mainly of neoendemism, but the latter centre is mainly ofpalaeoendemism.

Key words: Chinese endemic genera of seed plants