The Chinese flora， with an estimated 31，000species， is of immense scientific and horticulturalimportance. Noteworthy， too. is Chinese traditionamedicine， which is based on the remarkableplant resources of the country. Descriptions andidentification keys for this diverse flora， untilnow unavailable in English， have been publishedover the past 16 years in the Flora of China，in conjunction with a separate series， the Floraof China Illustrations. Thirty-two of the total of48 text and illustration volumes have alreadybeen published， thanks to an unprecedented andlong-standing collaboration between Westernand Chinese scientists.This volume entirely comprises the orchid family，or Orchidaceae. with 1.388 species in China.of which 491 are endemic， i.e.， found nowhereelse on Earth. The orchids of China includewild relatives of the source of the economicallyimportant vanilla pod， as well as the well-knowncultivated genera Cymbidium and the slipperorchids. Cypripedium and Paphiopedilum. Chinahas hundreds of other horticulturally importantorchid species in genera such as Bletilla，Bulbophyllum， Calanthe， Coelogyne， Dendrobium，Phalaenopsis， Pleione， and Vanda. This volumeis the only fully comprehensive and up-to-date.English-language account of the wild orchidsof China.
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