Find the most accurate plant names: from mobile apps, specimens to literature
2 January 2024 | Plants & Us
2 January 2024 | Plants & Us
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...
After going through the following steps, a bottle of delicious honey is ready! Nectar Source: Hong Kong's nectar sources are mainly divided into two categories: fruit trees and native trees. The form...
Are trees with cavities dangerous? Caring for tree safety and ecological value at KFBG
31 October 2023 | Plants & Us
31 October 2023 | Plants & Us
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
25 September 2023 | Plants & Us
25 September 2023 | Plants & Us
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...
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...
There are 25 species of bats in Hong Kong, accounting for almost half the number of local mammal fauna. Bats can be generally categorised into two groups insectivorous bats and fruit bats, although ...
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...
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
16 March 2023 | Plants & Us
16 March 2023 | Plants & Us
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...
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...