Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China. With 7.5 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Hong Kong is also one of the three global financial centres and one of the most developed cities in the world.
The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest zoological and botanical centres in the world, and the oldest park in Hong Kong. Founded in 1864, its first stage was opened to the public in 1871. It occupies an area of 5.6 hectares, in Central, on the northern slope of Victoria Peak.
Bauhinia × blakeana, commonly called the Hong Kong orchid tree, is a hybrid leguminous tree of the genus Bauhinia. It has large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually 10 to 15 centimetres across, and bloom from early November to the end of March. Although now cultivated in many areas, it originated in Hong Kong in 1880 and apparently all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens and widely planted in Hong Kong starting in 1914. It is referred to as bauhinia in non-scientific literature though this is the name of the genus. It is sometimes called the Hong Kong orchid (香港蘭). In Hong Kong, it is most commonly referred to by its Chinese name of "洋紫荊".
Out of the total 1,092 km2 of Hong Kong land, three-quarters is countryside, with various landscapes including beaches, woodlands, and mountain ranges within the small territory. Most of Hong Kong's parks have natural diversity, usually containing over 1,000 species of plants
Euptelea is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the monogeneric family Eupteleaceae. The genus is found from Assam east through China to Japan, and consists of shrubs or small trees:
Gastrochilus calceolaris is a species in the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread across much of Southeast Asia, including southern China, Bhutan, Assam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Gastrochilus, abbreviated Gchls in horticultural trade, is a genus of plant in family Orchidaceae. It is native to eastern and southeastern Asia, including China, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc.
Loropetalum subcordatum is a species of plant in the Hamamelidaceae family. It is found in China and Hong Kong. Previously considered a separate genus, Tetrathyrium, Loropetalum subcordatum is one of four species of Loropetalum, and is placed in tribe Loropetaleae, subfamily Hamamelidoideae, family Hamamelidaceae of the Saxifragales. Its conservation status is considered vulnerable.
Thismia is a genus of myco-heterotrophic plants in family Burmanniaceae, first described as a genus in 1845. It is native to East and Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas.
Anisomeridium is a genus of lichens in the family Monoblastiaceae. The type species was originally named Arthopyrenia xylogena by Swiss botanist Johannes Müller Argoviensis in 1883; in 1928, Maurice Choisy defined the genus Anisomeridium, designating A. xylogena the type species.
Gastrochilus japonicus, known as Tamra gastrochilus, is a species of orchid. It is native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Gastrochilus pseudodistichus is a species of orchid. It is native to Asia (Nepal, Yunnan, Assam, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan].
Pteris semipinnata is a fern species in the Pteridoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. It is native to Hong Kong.
Trichoglottis biglandulosa is a species of flowering plant from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is endemic to the island of Java in Indonesia. It is part of the monopodial subtribe Aeridinae and bears nearly white flowers that are proportionally large compared to the rest of the plant.
Ananas macrodontes is a plant species closely related to the pineapple, in the family Bromeliaceae. Its common name is the false pineapple, a name shared with the not closely related Pandanus kaida. The scientific community has not reached consensus on whether this species should belong in the same genus as the pineapple (Ananas), or in its own genus (Pseudananas).
Tai Mo Shan is the highest peak in Hong Kong, with an elevation of 957 metres (3,140 ft). and located at approximately the geographical centre of the New Territories.
Nepenthes barcelonae is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Philippine island of Luzon. It is known from a single mountain in the Sierra Madre range of Aurora Province, where it grows in stunted submontane forest.
Kewa is a genus of flowering plants, consisting of eight species of succulent sub-woody plants, native to eastern and southern Africa, including Saint Helena and Madagascar. These are small shrubs or herbs that form cushions and have edible, acid-tasting leaves. Kewa is the only genus in the family Kewaceae.
Arve Elvebakk is a Norwegian mycologist and professor working from the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø who has published widely on Arctic biology, and climatology. Additionally, he collaborates with many mycologists across the world, and has published names for lichens in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and South America, and the Antarctic.
