Flora of China, Text Volume 2-3, Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae

The Chinese flora, with approximately 31,500 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 20 years in the Flora of China, in conjunction with a separate series, the Flora of China Illustrations. All 22 text volumes and 21 of the 22 illustration volumes have already been published, thanks to an unprecedented and long-standing collaboration between Western and Chinese scientists. All that remains are the illustration volume that accompanies this text volume (vol. 2 3) and the introductory volume (vol. 1).

This text volume of the Flora of China is entirely devoted to the lycophytes and ferns (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae), with more than 2,100 species described in 38 families and 177 genera. Among these, the largest genera are Asplenium (spleenwort, 90 species), Athyrium (lady fern, 123 species), Deparia (53 species), Diplazium (86 species), Dryopteris (buckler fern or male fern, 167 species), Polystichum (shield fern, 208 species), Pteris (78 species), and Selaginella (72 species). Three genera and more than 800 (ca. 39%) of the species of lycophytes and ferns are endemic to China. This is lower than the overall percentage 50% of endemic vascular plants in China.