Medicinal Plants and Mushrooms of Yunnan Province of China

Although many texts describe plants from China, the focus of this book is to draw on the rich culture and environment of medicinal plants and fungi/mushrooms of Yunnan Province. In fact, Yunnan Province covers two global hotspots of biodiversity, with the richest biological and cultural diversity in China. In particular, the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (founded in 1938 and located in the capital city of Yunnan Province) has made great contributions in the fields of botany and phytochemistry, earning an international reputation. This book covers those medicinal plants and fungi/mushrooms specific to Yunnan Province, and is written mainly by KIB experts in this research field. Key Features: Distinct sections cover the breadth of the topic including resource availability (wildly grown or cultivated), sustainability, and distribution Discusses plant parts used for medicinal uses (the folklore, the ancient and modern uses) Describes the important natural products and the known pharmacologically active components Presents biological activities related to medicinal uses or clinical evidence Cover image: Shilin, the stone forest (eroded vertical pinnacles of limestone), landmark of Kunming, Yunnan.

Clara Bik-San LAUProfessor Lau graduated in Pharmacy (Pharmacognosy) from King’s College London, University of London, United Kingdom. Her research focuses on medicinal plants (western herbals and traditional Chinese herbal medicines) and has over 24 years' experience in natural products research. She is currently the Associate Director of the Institute of Chinese Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She also serves as the Associate Director of the State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants (CUHK). She has a courtesy appointment as Associate Professor at the School of Chinese Medicine, CUHK and has served as Deputy Program Director/Program Director (2005-2015) of a part-time MSc in Chinese Medicines and Herbal Drugs. Her main research area is on anti-cancer herbal medicines and natural products. Up till now, she has published over 225 refereed articles in international journals. She currently serves as member of ChP-USP Advisory Group on Monographs for Traditional Chinese Medicine Ingredients and Products; Deputy Secretary General and Executive Council Member of The Consortium for Globalization of Chinese Medicine (CGCM); Secretary General and Executive Council Member of the Board of Directors for Good Practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Association (GP-TCM RA); Associate Chief Executive of Modernized Chinese Medicine International Association (MCMIA); Advisor for Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong on Registration of Proprietary Chinese Medicines; as well as Associate Editor of “Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (eJTCM)” and Editorial Board members of journals “Phytomedicine”, “Scientific Reports”, “Journal of Natural Products” and “Journal of Ethnopharmacology”. Chun-Lin LONGProf. Long completed his PhD from Gifu University, Japan. He is holding various posts as professor at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China, and Vice President of the Chinese Society of Ethnobotany, China. Since 1989, 373 research articles and reviews have been published in national and international peer-reviewed journals, in which 167 were covered/indexed by Science Citation Index (SCI). Over 20 books had been published. Prof. Dr. Long’s professional experience of 30 years includes many fields of botany, ethnbototany and ethnomedicine, and natural products. Prof. Dr. Long has been invited to join in the editorial board by more than 10 journals. He is now the Associate Editor of Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, and Board Member of Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, Archives of Pharmacal Research, and Biodiversity Science.