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NATURAL HISTORY

Pok Fu Lam and was named after a former Governor, Sir Henry Blake. It is among the finest of the Bauhinia genus anywhere in the world and has been adopted as Hong Kong's floral emblem. It is now quite widely planted.

Other plants produce fruits that are pecked at and eaten by birds. A common tree, the Sterculia is an example. The remarkable starlike fruit turns crimson in late summer and splits open to disclose the jet black seeds. The seeds are eaten by a number of birds including the Chinese blue magpie.

A great variety of wild plants have medicinal and economic values. Parts of a common tree, Schefflera octophylla, are used in herbal medicines for the preparation of 'leung cha', a drink used chiefly for relieving indigestion. Shrubs like Psychotria rubra, Ardisia crispa and Strophantus divaricatus are thought useful for bruises and certain injuries.

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Botanical explorations carried out by staff of the Hong Kong Herbarium, staff of the two universities and amateur botanists, have been fruitful. A new and distinct camellia was discovered in 1955 and named Camellia granthamiara in honour of the then Governor, Sir Alexander Grantham. Two more groups of the plant have now been discovered. Since the publication of the Checklist of Hong Kong Plants (1966) there have been 23 new additions to Hong Kong flora.

More than 80 species of native orchids are recorded. Some ground orchids are beautiful and have long been cultivated in other countries. Probably the best known of the local species is the nun orchid, bearing flowers four inches across with white petals and a purple lip. Other species include the white susanna orchid, the yellow buttercup orchid, the pink bamboo orchid and the purple lady's slipper orchid.

Under the Forestry Ordinance, special protection is given to certain plants including camellias, enkianthus, magnolias, orchids and azaleas.

The Hong Kong Herbarium, founded in 1878, contains a valuable collection of about 31,500 plant specimens, including all the known 1,832 indigenous species and some 2,500 related species from adjacent regions of East and Southeast Asia. The Herbarium, is situated at the headquarters of the Agriculture and Fisheries Depart- ment in the Canton Road Government Offices in Kowloon, and is open to the public.