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There are 7,137 medicinal plants in China at present according to the record of Xin Hua compendium of Materia Medica, of which 492 species are cultivated and 237 are cultivated extensively. These are however, mostly wild species. Around half of the 584 plant medicines recorded in Pharmacopoeia of the people's Republic of China, published in 1990, are wild. almost all herbal medicines extensively used by people are wild species. The great variety of medicinal plants are threatened seriously in China. Among the List of precious plants in imminent Danger in China revised and promulgated in 1987 by the Environmental Protection Commission of the State Council, 109 out of 389 species are medicinal plants which makes up 28% of the total. The principle threat to medicinal plants comes from excessive picking and digging. The development of the economy and urbanization has led to the construction of new cities and mines. Vast areas of land with its forests and grasslands have been reclaimed resulting in the destruction of wild medicinal plant resources.

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Important medicinal plants of China. 3. Plants in use for herbal medicine. 4. Famous medicinal plants of China. 5. Cultivation of medicinal plants in China. Bibliography. Index.