The Chinese flora, with an estimated 31,000 species, is of immense scientific and horticultural importance. Noteworthy, too, is Chinese traditional medicine, which is based on the remarkable plant resources of the country. Descriptions and identification keys for this diverse flora, until now unavailable in English, have been published over the past 16 years in the Flora of China, in conjunction with a separate series, the Flora of China Illustrations. Thirty-one of the total of 48 text and illustration volumes have already been published, thanks to an unprecedented and long-standing collaboration between Western and Chinese scientists.
Volume 11 of the illustrations series covers 35 plant families. Some examples of the many that have economic and horticultural importance are: Aceraceae, of which the numerous Acer or maple trees have a distribution range centered in China; Anacardiaceae, including the cashew nut and mango; Aquifoliaceae, with hundreds of holly trees and shrubs in the genus Ilex; Buxaceae, best known for the boxwoods; Euphorbiaceae, or spurge family, containing the rubber and Chinese tallow trees as well as the food staple tapioca; Geraniaceae, comprising mainly the cranesbills and geraniums; Linaceae, notable for Linum, or flax, which is cultivated for its stem fiber and seed oil; Polygalaceae, with plants of medicinal value; Rutaceae, or citrus fruit family, including also Sichuan pepper from the genus Zanthoxylum; and Staphyleaceae, which includes the ornamental bladder nut shrubs.