KFBG Blog: Plants & Us
Find the most accurate plant names: from mobile apps, specimens to literature
by Jinlong Zhang When you come across a plant and want to know its name, is there a quick and accurate way to achieve this? If you're a plant lover, you may have joined a social media group where you...
Are trees with cavities dangerous? Caring for tree safety and ecological value at KFBG
When visiting Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, you may spot trees with openings of different shapes and sizes, both in the botanic garden and more generally in our nature reserve. You may be surpris...
A Nose for Nature: The Importance of Floral Fragrances and How They Can Help Conserve the Hong Kong Eagle’s Claw
By Ned Liu, Botanist, Flora Conservation Department Most plants use flowers to coordinate their sex lives: flowers contain ovules (or egg cells), which are housed in the ovary at the base of the (fem...
Merging art and science to help conserve Hong Kong’s Incense Trees
It is estimated that at least 20% of all species on Earth now face extinction, with as many as 150 species being permanently expunged from the world's biological inventory every day. We urgently need...
Did the World’s Largest Flower Once Grow in Hong Kong?
Plants are great travellers and have colonised, flourished but also perished in many places. Patterns in plant distribution have emerged over many millions of years of evolution. The southeast Asia b...
KFBG discovers eight plant species newly recorded in Hong Kong
Written by Jinlong Zhang With the publication of the fourth volume of Flora of Hong Kong (Hu & Wu, 2008) in 2011 and the Check List of Hong Kong Plants in 2012, 2,175 native plant species have be...
Using DNA forensics to uncover the mysteries of the medicinal orchid trade in Hong Kong
Many people are fascinated by orchids because of their beautiful flowers. However, when processed orchids or their parts, such as leaves, tubers and roots, are sold as traditional Chinese medicine (T...
Helping our trees grow straight and true
To plant a tree, we dig a hole, place the root ball of the seedling inside, and back-fill the gaps with soil. It is as simple as that. However, this is only the beginning of a massive, long-term comm...
A Taste of Honey!
As we move into the flowering season of the ivy tree (Schefflera heptaphylla), a common species native to Hong Kong, we can hear the buzzing of numerous nectar-craving insects.Ivy Treein bloom at KFB...
Can Hong Kong’s iconic Incense Tree survive and thrive?
Incense Tree (Aquilaria sinensis) is a precious tree species found only in Hong Kong and south China. This tree is of high historical and cultural significance as it is believed to have given rise to...