[Explanation] On July 11, the South China National Botanical Garden was officially unveiled in Guangzhou.

The botanical garden was established on the basis of the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with a planned total area of ​​319 hectares for the core functional areas. It is the first national botanical garden in South China and an important part of China's national botanical garden system.

　　The South China National Botanical Garden (formerly known as the South China Botanical Garden) is one of the oldest botanical research and plant protection institutions in China, and the Herbarium, as the most historic internal institution of the botanical garden, currently has a collection of more than 1.15 million copies, covering 49,000 species. multiple.

　　[Concurrent] Luo Shixiao, Curator of Herbarium of South China National Botanical Garden

　　The South China (National) Botanical Garden Herbarium was built in 1928. In addition to our own scientists to collect and store specimens in our herbarium, we also exchange and cooperate with 80 countries in the world, such as ours here. The oldest preserved specimen, we exchanged it with the British Museum. This specimen was collected from 1822 to 1824. Because its records were not as accurate as it is now, this is the collection site of one of its specimens. , it is Nigeria in Africa, this is the oldest preserved specimen in our herbarium, a specimen over 100 years old.

　　[Explanation] The reporter saw in the herbarium that the staff were making, identifying and managing plant specimens.

In the binding room of the Herbarium, Xie Qunying, who has more than 10 years of experience in plant specimen binding, can complete the binding of more than 60 plant specimens every day.

Xie Qunying said that when binding each plant specimen, in addition to checking the collection information such as the person who collected it, the time of collection, and the collection location, it is also necessary to find a way to clearly display the main characteristics of the plant, so that it is convenient for researchers to study it in the future.

　　[Concurrent] Xie Qunying, staff member of the Herbarium of South China National Botanical Garden

　　Open a specimen and look at the direction of its growth. In addition, the leaves on the front and back should be displayed, as well as the fruit, which is convenient for experts to identify and observe.

(This part is mainly) Apply glue, stick the glue evenly, put it on the table, wipe it off if there is excess glue, and leave these 4 corners. The first is to paste the collection record on the upper left corner. It is the identification stick, stick it in the lower left corner, cover this newspaper, and put the sticker.

　　[Explanation] After the plant specimens are bound, they must be sterilized at low temperature, and then it is the stage of storage and storage.

According to reports, the Herbarium of South China National Botanical Garden established three sets of management and retrieval systems, namely the "card system", "collection record system" and "serial number system" when it was established. Serial number for quick query, as historical relics, these three retrieval systems are well preserved in the museum.

　　[Concurrent] Luo Shixiao, Curator of Herbarium of South China National Botanical Garden

　　Now, with the development of the times, we have one more step, that is to digitize, and then take photos or scans of these specimens, upload them to the database system, and then put the specimens into storage. After storage, we will manage them later. The process of management is that scientists come to borrow and check these specimens and conduct scientific research. This is a process from the collection of the entire specimen to the final research by scientists.

　　[Explanation] In addition to plant specimens, there are also some "plant portraits" in the herbarium, which are plant science paintings.

In the era of the popularization of digital cameras, compared to plant photos, plant science paintings can better highlight the research focus of researchers when paired with their text descriptions, allowing people to recognize the characteristics of plants at a glance.

　　[Concurrent] Liu Yunxiao, a plant science painter at the Herbarium of South China National Botanical Garden

　　Our first step is to start a draft, to draw the whole plant, to restore its originality, to reshape the specimen, to restore it, to restore its original growth to the best state.

Because of the information it needs in a scientific painting, it needs a plant, and then adds our anatomical map. After the draft is finished, we just need to ink it. After the ink line map is scanned, it can be scanned. It is made into an electronic version, which can then be sent to researchers.

　　[Explanation] Liu Yunxiao is the fourth-generation plant science painter of the Herbarium, and has been engaged in the production of plant science paintings for 22 years.

Liu Yunxiao said that as a plant science painter, you must not only master the drawing skills, but also be familiar with the growth laws of plants, so as to accurately express the research results of researchers on plants through pictures.

　　[Concurrent] Liu Yunxiao, a plant science painter at the Herbarium of South China National Botanical Garden

　　Now that photography technology is so developed, why do we continue to paint this thing without taking pictures, because your camera doesn't know how to choose, because you don't know what has scientific value, we have to focus on expressing specific content with scientific value, We want to originate from the truth and be higher than the truth. How can we say that what we paint is mainly specimens, which means that we give this plant a second life, because we want to restore it to its most natural state of life.

　　[Explanation] Luo Shixiao, curator of the South China National Botanical Garden Herbarium, said that with the construction of the South China National Botanical Garden, the future herbarium will continue to play a role in biodiversity conservation, global change, biological invasion, food security, strategic resources, and foreign trade import and export. play an important role.

　　Reported by Vejeff Chen Jimin and Liu Shiying from Guangdong

Responsible editor: [Li Ji]