A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE FLORA OF VASCULAR PLANTS IN SHENNONGJIA,CHINA

This paper is a summary account of the study on the flora of vascular plants in Shennongjia. The results show:1. Up to now, 2638 species and infraspecific taxa belonging to 850 genera and 193 families are known;2. Based on analysing the areal types of 850 genera, the temperate, especially the north temperate elements are dominant of the floristic composition;3. Many ancient and relic elements are conserved in the area, such as Osmunda, Pteroceltis, Bretschneidera, Tetracentron, Emmenopterys, etc.;4. There are 47 monotypic genera and 33 genera of single-species in China, 43 genera endemic to China, 49 species of rare and protected plants in China;5. The woody plants comprise 1103 species( including subspecies and varieties) in 290 genera and 99 families. Among them, 128 genera are trees.The conditions above indicate that Shennongjia is more abundant in vascular plants and, it can be recognized as a typical area of the Chinese temperate flora.