More than 100 species of ferns are on display at Chenshan Botanical Garden. [Photo/WeChat account: sheshanlvyou]
A fern exhibition highlighting the conservation achievements of ferns at Chenshan Botanical Garden in Shanghai opened to the public recently.
The exhibition features more than 100 species of ferns from 24 families, including aquatic, terrestrial, lithophytic, and epiphytic ferns.
Ferns are the oldest extant land vascular plants and date back to the Silurian period about 440-420 million years ago. They are ideal subjects for studying the origin and evolution of land plants and the changes of landforms. China has more than 2,400 species of ferns, of which nearly 40 percent are endemic.
The exhibition also showcases some of the fern specimens collected and made by the garden's fern research team. [Photo/WeChat account: sheshanlvyou]
The fern research and conservation team at Chenshan Botanical Garden has been dedicated to the investigation of fern resources and the introduction of living plants in China for more than 10 years. They have collected and conserved more than 560 species from 30 families and 108 genera.
The exhibition showcases some rare and endangered national key protected ferns, and presents for the first time to the public the new species discovered by the garden's research team in collaboration with Yunnan University.
The exhibition also highlights the breakthroughs made by the garden's fern research team in the global classification and evolution of dipteridaceae this year.
Location: the Shared Space Exhibition Hall near Gate 2 of Chenshan Botanical Garden
Best viewing period: before Aug 15