Research On The History And Influences Of The Collection And Introduction Of Bamboo From China To The United States

The extraordinary diversity and richness of plant resources in China made it “The Mother of Gardens”.During the 19 th and 20 th centuries,Western countries have conducted long-term and large-scale plant expeditions,collections and introduction activities in China.Bamboos in China are widely distributed naturally and have a long history of cultivation and utilization.In the process of collection and introduction in China by Western countries,especially the United States,bamboo was regarded as one of the main plants.The survey on the history of the collection and introduction of bamboo from China to the United States will help us to objectively evaluate the contribution of Chinese plant resources to the world.It provides reference for future research on plant introduction history and biodiversity conservation in China.Research on comprehensive analysis of its collection and introduction of the historical background,investigating the bamboo specimens and the introduction of bamboo stage,the collection places,the name of genus and specie,as well as focus on analysis for main collectors,and finally discusses the influence of the collection and introduction of bamboo in China by the United States.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The collection and introduction of bamboo in China by the United States was carried out under a specific historical background.After the Opium War,China was opened to the outside world.The barriers that prevented European countries from collecting and introducing plants in China were broken.The collection and introduction activities were carried out rapidly.After the founding of the People’s Republic of China,international collection and introduction activities tended to be orderly.European countries collected a large number of plants in China’s recent history,which stimulated the American plant collection activities in China.Under the encouragement of the United States federal government,the promotion of economic development and the premise of relevant organizations and a group of professionals’ keen on plant collection and introduction,the plant collection activities in China were finally promoted.(2)In this study,American collected bamboo specimens in China from 1840 to 2010.According to the collected specimen data,American collected a total of 2238 bamboo specimens in China.The accepted names belonged to 25 genera(accounting for 73.5% of the genera in China)and 120 species(including varieties,forms and cultivated varieties)(accounting for 22.5% of the species in China),the most collected species were the genus Bambusa,Phyllostachys and Fargesia,and the most collected species were Pseudosasa cantorii,Phyllostachys reticulata and Bambusa tuldoides.There were a total of 20 provinces,autonomous regions,municipalities and special administrative regions involved in the collection places,of which Guangdong,Hong Kong and Hainan were the most collected,65 cities,autonomous prefectures and 82 districts(counties and county-level cities)were involved.(3)In this study,the United States introduced bamboo in China from 1898 to 2010.The U.S.Department of Agriculture introduced 390 from China(306 of which were introduced directly).The Arnold Arboretum has introduced 8 bamboos from China.The American Bamboo Society has introduced 138 species bamboos from China,of which 126 species have been directly introduced.The bamboo species belonged to 28 genera(accounting for 82.3% of the genera in China),185 species(accounting for 34.6% of the species in China),13 varieties,20 varieties and 25 varieties.The most introduced genus is Phyllostachys,Bambusa and Fargesia.(4)According to the collected specimen data,there were 45 collectors and collection teams.Among these collectors,Mc Clure collected the most specimens.According to the Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported and Plantae Wilsonianae,a total of 314 bamboos were directly introduced from China to the United States,312 of which contained information about the collectors,with Mc Clure,Meyer and Wilson introduced the most plants.Mc Clure worked in China from 1919 to 1940,during which time he collected bamboo specimens and introduced bamboo for the USDA.According to existing records,Mc Clure collected a total of 727 numbers,1840 sheets of bamboo plants,belonged to 93 species(including varieties,forms and cultivated varieties)of 20 genera,a total of 255 bamboo plants were introduced to the United States,belonged to 81 species(including varieties,forms and cultivated varieties)of 18 genera.(5)The introduction of bamboo from China to the United States has greatly increased the number of American bamboos.Bamboo is becoming more and more popular in American landscape,and their application forms are also deeply influenced by China.With the wide application of bamboo plants,bamboo nurseries are also developing in the direction of refined products and varieties.The study of bamboo classification in China by Mc Clure has led to the rapid development of bamboo taxonomy.During his stay in China,Mc Clure published a total of 55 new species,6 varieties and 3 genera of bamboos.The introduction of bamboo is successful,and the bamboo industry has developed in the United States.During the collection period in China,the collectors were also deeply influenced by Chinese bamboo culture,and they played a certain role in promoting the spread of Chinese bamboo culture.