210
NATURAL HISTORY
Many villagers have a good working knowledge of the usefulness of a number of local plants. Aquilaria sinensis is used in the manufacture of scented joss sticks, and among those used in traditional Chinese herbal medicines are Psychotria rubra, Ardisia crispa, and Strophanthus divaricatus, which are considered good for bruises and certain injuries.
Botanical explorations carried out by the Hong Kong Herbarium, the two univer- sities and amateur botanists have been productive. Some 19 species of plant hitherto unrecorded in Hong Kong have recently been found and are now represented in the herbarium collection. A new orchid species discovered by Dr S. Y. Hu in 1969 is named Cymbidium maclehoseae in honour of Lady MacLehose, who is a keen naturalist.
The Hong Kong Herbarium was established in-1878 and it contains a collection of about 32,700 plant specimens. It is the government institution responsible for the collection, classification and maintenance of authoritative preserved plant specimens representative of the Hong Kong flora. It disseminates knowledge and information about the plants, and an index of Latin/Chinese/common names is maintained. The herbarium is situated at the headquarters of the Agriculture and Fisheries Depart- ment in the Canton Road government offices in Kowloon, and it is open to the public.
The Zoological and Botanical Gardens under the management of the Urban Council were established, as the Botanic Gardens, in about 1871. The layout of the 17-acre gardens is strictly formal, with wide paths, pavilions, flower beds and a central fountain. Not far from the main entrance is a plant house where tropical, shade- loving plants are cultivated, and on the lawns and grass slopes many trees and flowering shrubs are planted.
Zoological exhibits in the gardens comprise both mammals and birds. The mammals include White-cheeked Crested Gibbons, Celebes Black Apes, Squirrel Monkeys, Common Marmosets, Golden Agoutis, Prevost's Tree Squirrels, Chinese Porcupines, Raccoons, and Pumas. Their enclosures are designed to encourage breeding and they are attractively laid out within a botanical setting.
The bird collection is among the best in the Far East, having some 700 specimens representing about 300 species from most parts of the world. The zoo specialises in breeding Peacock Pheasants, especially the now seriously endangered Palawan Peacock Pheasant. More than 150 have been bred in the gardens during the past 11 years, and many of them distributed to zoos and bird collections throughout the world. Another three species of Peacock Pheasants were also bred during 1976. A recently-established flock of Flamingoes produced its first chick unexpectedly early, and, although the chick was lost apparently by a senseless act of vandalism, there are hopes for future breeding of the flock under tighter security arrangements. The construction of six new breeding aviaries was completed in 1976.