PROTECTING THE RESOURCES OF THE TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS

In order to finish the cataloging work of buttercup species in the family of Renunculaceae for the compilation of the Flora Yunnanensis, I went to the CAS Institute of Botany in Kunming City,capital of Yunnan Province in May 1995 to look up phyto-taxonomic specimens. At the invitation of the Institute’s director Prof. Xu Zhaifu, when the work was coming to an end, I toured the well-known botanic garden of the Institute in the township of Menglu, which nests in the picturesque district of Xishuang Banna at the southernmost tip of the subtropical territory of Yunnan. In the winter of 1958,I had visited the ever-verdant vicinity to collect floral materials. After almost 37 years, I revisited the botanic garden founded by celebrated botanist