Ch'ien C. Lee (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 李乾;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Lǐ Qián) is a

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

specialising in the

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Nepenthes ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mos ...

''. Lee has described several new ''Nepenthes'' species, including '' N. baramensis''Clarke, C., J.A. Moran & C.C. Lee 2011. ''Nepenthes baramensis'' (Nepenthaceae) – a new species from north-western Borneo . ''Blumea'' 56(3): 229–233. (now known as '' N. hemsleyana''Scharmann, M. & T.U. Grafe 2013. Reinstatement of ''Nepenthes hemsleyana'' (Nepenthaceae), an endemic pitcher plant from Borneo, with a discussion of associated ''Nepenthes'' taxa. ''Blumea'', published online on May 8, 2013. ), '' N. chaniana'',Clarke, C.M., C.C. Lee & S. McPherson 2006. ''Nepenthes chaniana'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species from north-western Borneo. ''Sabah Parks Nature Journal'' 7: 53–66. '' N. gantungensis'',McPherson, S., J. Cervancia, C. Lee, M. Jaunzems, A. Fleischmann, F. Mey, E. Gironella & A. Robinson 2010. ''Nepenthes gantungensis'' (Nepenthaceae), a new pitcher plant species from Mount Gantung, Palawan, Philippines. In: S.R. McPherson ''Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats''. Volume 2. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 1286–1295. '' N. glandulifera'',Lee, C.C. 2004. New records and a new species of ''Nepenthes'' (Nepenthaceae) from Sarawak. ''Sandakania'' 15: 93–101. '' N. jamban'',Lee, C.C., Hernawati & P. Akhriadi 2006
Two new species of ''Nepenthes'' (Nepenthaceae) from North Sumatra
''Blumea'' 51(3): 561–568. '' N. lingulata'', '' N. palawanensis'',McPherson, S., J. Cervancia, C. Lee, M. Jaunzems, A. Fleischmann, F. Mey, E. Gironella & A. Robinson 2010. ''Nepenthes palawanensis'' (Nepenthaceae), a new pitcher plant species from Sultan Peak, Palawan Island, Philippines. In: S.R. McPherson ''Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats''. Volume 2. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 1332–1339. '' N. pitopangii'',Lee, C.C., S. McPherson, G. Bourke & M. Mansur 2009. ''Nepenthes pitopangii'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species from central Sulawesi, Indonesia. ''Gardens' Bulletin Singapore'' 61(1): 95–100. '' N. platychila'',Lee, C.C. 2002. ''Nepenthes platychila'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species of pitcher plant from Sarawak, Borneo. ''Gardens' Bulletin Singapore'' 54: 257–261. and '' N. harauensis''. Lee also described the natural

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

'' N. × bauensis''. Ch'ien Lee holds a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Biology/Ecology from the

University of California Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

. Having maintained a keen interest in nature since a child, his enthusiasm has led him to study various subjects ranging from

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

animal tracking Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked (the "quarry"). A further goal of tracking is the deeper unde ...

and

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

, and eventually to work as a naturalist and environmental educator in the East Bay Regional Parks in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 1996, fulfilling a lifelong desire to live in the tropics, he moved to

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

(

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia li ...

, on the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

) to work in a program for the propagation of native plant species. Ch'ien studied photography while at school and has always considered it an excellent method to convey ideas and share his fascination about natural subjects encountered during his travels.Free talk on Sarawak’s pitcher plants Sept 30
''BorneoPost Online'', September 14, 2011. His hobby became a professional endeavor in 2003. "Borneo is a fantastic place to live if you've got an insatiable interest in nature. It's easy for a photographer to get spoiled by the overwhelming diversity of subjects every time you're out. Of course working in the tropics presents some real obstacles for photography, but it's always worth the effort." Tropical

pitcher plants Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

(''Nepenthes'') have been a major focus of his for over 12 years, and he has published a number of papers on their

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

: "A lot of my travel over the past decade has been in the pursuit of rare ''Nepenthes'' and this has taken me to many really remote parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

." His photographs have appeared in numerous articles and books, and are featured in ''Pitcher Plants of Sarawak'', ''The Fishes of Kuching Rivers'', and the second edition of ''

Pitcher Plants of Borneo ''Pitcher-Plants of Borneo'' is a monograph by Anthea Phillipps and Anthony Lamb on the tropical pitcher plants of Borneo. It was first published in 1996 by Natural History Publications (Borneo), in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ke ...

''. He occasionally undertakes assignment photography, although freelance work remains his main interest. In addition to his photography, Ch'ien is currently engaged as a consultant at the Botanical Research Centre (Sarawak Forestry Corporation) in

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

and also periodically works as a nature guide for private group tours in

and

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

, and occasionally the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Publications

* Lee, C.C. 2002. ''Proceedings of the 4th International Carnivorous Plant Conference, Hiroshima University, Tokyo'': 25–30. * Lee, C.C. 2002. ''Nepenthes platychila'' (Nepenthaceae), a New Species of Pitcher Plant from Sarawak, Borneo. ''Gardens Bulletin Singapore'' 54: 257–261. * Clarke, C.M. & C.C. Lee 2004. ''A Pocket Guide: Pitcher Plants of Sarawak''.

Natural History Publications (Borneo) Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd. is a publishing house based in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. It is among the leading English language and natural history publishers in Malaysia and the entire Southeast Asian region. The company has publis ...

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

. vi + 81 pp. * Lee, C.C. 2004. ''Nepenthes''. In: Sarawak Bau Limestone Biodiversity. H.S. Yong, F.S.P. Ng and E.E.L. Yen (eds). ''The Sarawak Museum Journal'' Vol. LIX, No. 80; Special Issue No. 6: 71–77. * Lee, C.C. 2004. New records and a new species of ''Nepenthes'' (Nepenthaceae) from Sarawak. ''Sandakania'' 15: 93–101. * Clarke, C.M., C.C. Lee & S. McPherson 2006. ''Nepenthes chaniana'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species from north-western Borneo. ''Sabah Parks Journal'' 7: 53–66. * Lee, C.C., Hernawati & P. Akhriadi 2006
Two new species of ''Nepenthes'' (Nepenthaceae) from North Sumatra
''Blumea'' 51(3): 561–568. * Phillips, A., A. Lamb & C.C. Lee 2008. ''Pitcher Plants of Borneo''. Second Edition. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. * Lee, C.C., S. McPherson, G. Bourke & M. Mansur 2009. ''Nepenthes pitopangii'' (Nepenthaceae), a new species from central Sulawesi, Indonesia. ''Gardens' Bulletin Singapore'' 61(1): 95–100. * Clarke, C., J.A. Moran & C.C. Lee 2011. ''Nepenthes baramensis'' (Nepenthaceae) – a new species from north-western Borneo . ''Blumea'' 56(3): 229–233.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ch'ien Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Chinese descent Living people University of California, Santa Cruz alumni