PlantsMap

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15 plants worth knowing

China

China has one of the richest floras in the world – about 30,000 species of vascular plants, many of which survived the ice ages here as “living fossils”. The vegetation ranges from taiga in Heilongjiang, through the broadleaf forests of the north and the evergreen forests of the subtropical south, to the tropical forests of Hainan and Yunnan, while in the west there are steppes, the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts and the high-mountain vegetation of Tibet. Tea, peonies, rhododendrons and many garden plants all originate here.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

plants in our catalogue; native and endemic according to WCVP (Kew) · source
  1. Tree peony 1

    shrub · Unofficial national flower of China – winner of a 2019 nationwide vote

    native

    Tree peony

    Paeonia × suffruticosa

    The “king of flowers” – the Chinese have grown the tree peony for over a thousand years as a symbol of wealth and good fortune.
  2. Ginkgo 2

    tree

    native

    Ginkgo

    Ginkgo biloba

    The ginkgo is a “living fossil” – the sole surviving species of a plant group whose lineage goes back more than 200 million years.
  3. Moso bamboo 3

    bamboo

    native

    Moso bamboo

    Phyllostachys edulis

    Moso bamboo can grow a metre in a day and reach 20 m in a few weeks – it is China’s most important bamboo.
  4. Tea plant 4

    crop

    native

    Tea plant

    Camellia sinensis

    Tea was born in China – Yunnan is still home to tea trees that are hundreds of years old.
  5. Dawn redwood 5

    tree

    native

    Dawn redwood

    Metasequoia glyptostroboides

    Known only from fossils, the dawn redwood turned out to be alive – in the 1940s it was found in a remote valley in Hubei.
  6. Japanese apricot 6

    tree

    native

    Japanese apricot

    Prunus mume

    Meihua blossoms amid the snow before spring arrives – which is why in China it has long symbolised fortitude and perseverance.
  7. Sacred lotus 7

    aquatic plant

    native

    Sacred lotus

    Nelumbo nucifera

    The lotus “grows out of the mud yet remains unstained” – so wrote the 11th-century philosopher Zhou Dunyi, making it the model of an upright man.
  8. Florist’s chrysanthemum 8

    flower

    native

    Florist’s chrysanthemum

    Chrysanthemum × morifolium

    The chrysanthemum comes from China – the poet Tao Yuanming picked it “by the eastern fence”, and wine is made from it for the Double Ninth Festival.
  9. Sweet osmanthus 9

    shrub

    native

    Sweet osmanthus

    Osmanthus fragrans

    When guihua blooms in autumn, the streets of southern Chinese cities smell of apricots – the scent of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
  10. White mulberry 10

    tree

    nativeendemic

    White mulberry

    Morus alba

    Silkworms feed on the leaves of the white mulberry – without it there would be no Chinese silk and no Silk Road.
  11. Rice 11

    crop

    native

    Rice

    Oryza sativa

    Rice has been grown in China for about 9,000 years – the Yuanyang and Longji terraces are among the world’s most beautiful farming landscapes.
  12. Soybean 12

    crop

    native

    Soybean

    Glycine max

    The soybean was domesticated in northern China – without it there would be no tofu, soy sauce or soy milk.
  13. Peach 13

    tree

    nativeendemic

    Peach

    Prunus persica

    In Chinese mythology the peaches of immortality grow in the garden of the Queen Mother of the West – the fruit still symbolises longevity.
  14. Lychee 14

    tree

    native

    Lychee

    Litchi chinensis

    For Yang Guifei, beloved of Emperor Xuanzong, lychees from the south were rushed to the capital by relays of mounted couriers so they would not spoil.
  15. Oriental arborvitae 15

    tree · City tree of Beijing (together with the Japanese pagoda tree)

    native

    Oriental arborvitae

    Platycladus orientalis

    Ancient arborvitaes grow at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven and the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor – in China they symbolise loyalty and longevity.