英国邱园和外国人在中国的植物采集活动

英国邱园(Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew)是英国最大的植物标本保藏机构,也是世界顶级植物园之一。截止2012年12月31日,该园共有11 635份采自中国的植物标本,含206科1 102属6 056种植物。它们采自除黑龙江、吉林和天津以外的所有中国省份、直辖市和特别行政区,且90%以上的标本来自云南、四川、湖北、西藏、海南和台湾。绝大部分标本采集于1840-1949年间,也有一小部分集中在1975-2000年间。采集者来自多个国家,其中以爱尔兰人亨瑞(Augustine Henry)、英国人威尔逊(Ernest Henry Wilson)、英国人福利斯特(George Forrest)、法国人戴乐维(Pierre Jean Marie Delavay)和法国人卡瓦勒瑞(Pierre Julien Cavalerie)的贡献最大。邱园中采自中国的植物标本虽然绝大多数来自于西方人对中国植物资源的抢掠,但是对于早期中国植物学的研究以及《中国植物志》的编纂起到了极其重要的推动作用。

Kew Gardens and the Plant Collection Activities Undertaken by Foreianers in China

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is the largest institution for the conservation of plant specimens and one of the best botanic gardens in the world. Up to 31 December 2012, Kew Gardens had conserved 11 635 plant specimens collected in China, which include 6 056 species distributed in 206 families and 1 102 genera. They were collected in the all the provinces, municipalities and special administrative regions except Heilongjiang, Jilin and Tianjin, over 90% of which came from Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Tibet and Taiwan. The vast majority of the specimens were collected during 1840 - 1940, while a small amount of the specimens were gained in 1975 -2000. Among the collectors from various countries, the Irish man Augustine Henry, British men Ernest Henry Wilson and George Forrest, French men Pierre Jean Marie Delavay and Pierre Julien Cavalerie comparatively contributed more than the others. Although the overwhelming majority of the plant specimens collected in China reflect the fact that some Western people had stolen Chinese plant resources, the specimens had strongly helped promote the early -stage studies in botany in China and the compilation of the Flora of China.