Garden Plants from China

Abstract

AN interesting account of the botanical pioneers who first made known the wonderful flora of China, appears in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society (62, Pt. 8, 347-351, August 1937). It is mainly a review of a “History of European Botanical Discoveries in China” by E. Bretschneider. The volume is one of the treasures of the Society's Lindley Library, and the article is from the pen of Mr. F. C. Stern. It was not until nearly 400 years after Marco Polo's celebrated journey that Europeans took an interest in the decorative plants of China. Domenicus Parenin first mentioned Wistaria chinensis in 1698, but Father Pierre d'lncarville was probably the first botanical collector in China, about half a century later. It was not until the early part of last century, however, that Chinese plants began to find their way into European gardens; previous collections had been for herbarium material. The work of Dr. Abel, John Reeves, Robert Fortune, Dr. Hance, Father Armand David, Father Jean Marie Delavay, Nicolai Przewalski, Dr. Augustine Henry and other investigators of last century, is described. The account of their collections makes interesting reading, and the plants they introduced are among the greatest contributors to garden beauty.