A Floristic Study on the Seed Plants of the Cangshan Mountain Range,Dali, Yunnan,China

The floristic characteristic, position in Chinese floristic division, and the origin and development of the flora of the Cangshan Mountain Range (the Dali Range) were discussed from different aspects, based on the local seed plants of 2503 species, 45 subspecies, 194 varieties, belong to 852 genera in 164 families. Preliminary conclusions are as follows: The Cangshan Mountain Range belongs to three river gorges subregion, Hengduan mountain region, Sino Himalayan forest subkingdom, East Asiatic Kingdom, in Chinese floristic division. The floristic characteristic of seed plants of the Cangshan Mountain Range is temperate. Because of the geological events of the collision between Eurasian Plate and Indic Plate, the Tethys fading away, and the uplift of Himalayas, the elements from Gondwana land, Mediterranean and Arctic Tertiary gradually developed into its modern flora. The endemism within the flora is rich, with the neoendemic elements dominant. It shows that the Cangshan Mountain Range is not only a refuge for some ancient floristic elements but also a differentiation center for young floristic elements. It is an important floristic spot connecting floristic elements from different directions. And the distribution limits of a great deal of elements also are here.