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Kunming Institute of Botany, or KIB (), founded in 1938, is a research institution in the field of
Botany 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 w ...
, which is located in Kunming, the capital of
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
Province, China. The Institute is one of the major
herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
s in China and maintains a collection of over one plant specimens. There are also over 200,000 specimens of
fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...
,
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornw ...
es, many of which were donated by mycologist Mu Zang. The Institute also has a botanical garden. Currently there are around 5,000 species of
vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They a ...
in the botanical garden. There are several sections, with specific collections, such as: * Arboretum * Collection of herbs. * Endangered species and rare species. * Aquatic species. * Gardens of specimens of the genus Camellia, Magnolia, and Begonia. * Ferns All the plants that are hosted in the botanical garden are a foundation on which to work, for the research and experience of the staff of scientists at the Institute. Studies are conducted to improve the cultivation of plants of economic interest, with a view to better use, both nutritionally and industrially. Currently a digital database of the botanical garden is being prepared, as well as of wild plants in the province of Yunnan.


Germplasm Bank of Wild Species

A comprehensive research and preservation facility for the germplasm of rare and endangered plants, wild animal species and microorganisms was completed in 2007 at the KIB. With an investment of 148 million yuan (18.5 million U.S. dollars) over two years, the "Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species" facility was established by the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) with the help of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
(CAS). The bank is a key player in China's biotech industry and a pioneer in the nation's
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...
conservation and bioresource development strategy. According to the KIB, the bank sees itself as a leading storage facility of Asian species within 15 years of its foundation, and expects to make significant contributions to the development of the biotech industry and
life science Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy trans ...
research by providing valuable resources, information and
expertise An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable s ...
. Within the next five years, the bank is expected to collect 6,450 wild species, 4,000 of which will be plant seed species. Within 15 years, its collection will reach 19,000 species. The bank comprises a seed section, an in-vitro micro-propagation unit, a microorganism bank, an animal germplasm bank, a DNA bank, an information center and a garden. Stretching across an undulating landscape and climatic zones ranging from the tropical to the frigid,
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
is home to a multitude of plant species linked together by a complex network of
phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
relations, and accounts for more than 50 percent of China's plant diversity. It is China's largest seed bank.


See also

* Wu Zheng-yi, director of KIB * Cai Xitao, botanist * Kunming Institute of Zoology * Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Gardens *
List of herbaria This is a list of active herbaria, organized first by continent where the herbarium is located, then within each continent by size of the collection. The list is based on the Index Herbariorum, a global directory of herbaria and their associated st ...


References


CAS -- Kunming Institute of Botany
- China International Science and Technology Cooperation

*29 October 2008,[https://web.archive.org/web/20140906132953/http://www.radio86.co.uk/china-insight/news-today/8630/kew-s-millennium-seed-bank-deposits-uk-flora-collections-as-part-of-china-seed-bank-launch Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank deposits UK flora collections as part of China seed bank launch]


External links


Official websiteKunming Branch of CAS
*''The Flora of China'' a collaborative projec
flickr images
{{Authority control Botanical gardens in China Research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Buildings and structures in Kunming Education in Kunming