Investigation And Esthetic Evaluation Of Wild Ornamental Plant Resources In The Region Around The Tarim Basin

The Tarim Basin has special geographical position and unique ecological conditions, which provides superior variation environment for the wild ornamental plants. However, little information is available on the wild ornamental plants investigation in the region. Form 2006 to 2010, an on-the-spot investigation about the wild ornamental plants was carried out in the region around Tarim Basin based on line survey and field investigation. According to the investigations and statistics, there are 61 families,250 genera and 514 species. There are 1 species of pteridophyte belonging to 1 family,1 genus and 5 species of gymnosperm belonging to 2 families, 4 genera and 508 species of angiosperm belonging to 58 families, 245 genera. There are 35 rare and endangered plant species belonging to 30 genera and 21 families, which have 21 Xinjiang endemic species in 18 genera of 12 families.According to the characteristics of phytobiology, the wild ornamental plants in the region around Tarim Basin can be divided into six categories:21 species of trees, 80 species of shrubberies, 284 species of herbaceous flowers, 12 species of lianes, 94 species of ground cover plants and 24 species of ornamental grasses. Except for ornamental grasses, 180 species of wild ornamental plants in other five categories were divided into different types based on their landscape utilities. We found that the wild ornamental plants have various landscape utilities, including all 18 types.Based on the statics and analysis of areal types, the ornamental plants in the region around Tarim Basin include some big families of plants, such as:Compositae, Rosaceae, Leguminosae, Chenopodiaceae, Gramineae. At the same time, some plants scatter to less and single family. The composition of genera is predominated by less and single genera plant, which shows obvious differentiation of flora and remarkable diversity. The dominant families are Polygonaceae, Leguminosae, Compositae, Rosaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Gramineae. The dominant genera are Rosa, Suaeda, Rumex, Potentilla, Scirpus, Ephed-ra, Polygonum, Cirsium, Pedicularis, Gentiana, Allium, Tamari, Silene, Medicago, Caragana, Nitraria and Plantago. The wild ornamental plants in the region can be grouped into 12 types and 13 variant on the basis of geographical distribution. North temperate genera occupies 39.9%, which ranks first in the distribution of genera, followed by cosmopolitan genera, Mediterranea genera, W.Asia to C.Asia genera, Old World Temperate genera and Temp.Asia genera.Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) was used to assess 323 pieces of the wild ornamental plant photo. The results indicate that the method of SBE slides can accurately evaluate the ornamental characteristics of plants through the standardized values. Based on the results,242 species of wild ornamental plants with the great potential and value to utilize were selected.We recommend 42 species of wild ornamental plants, which have distinct area distinguishing feature and high ornamental value in consideration of the diversity of regional around Tarim Basin.