Scientific Work
"Clearing the national bottom line."
The Difficult Families
Wang Wencai specialized in families notoriously difficult to classify due to morphological complexity. He identified 28 new genera and approximately 1,370 new species.
Ranunculaceae
毛茛科
Key Genera
Redefined evolutionary trends based on floral organs. Categorized Clematis sections based on primitive vs. advanced sepal nature and pollen morphology.
Specimen
Gesneriaceae
苦苣苔科
Key Genera
Instrumental in understanding flora of tropical East Asia. Described numerous genera endemic to karst landscapes like Allostigma and Pseudochirita.
Specimen
Urticaceae
荨麻科
Key Genera
Identified and named species even in his ninth decade (Metapilea, 2016). Categorized over 40,000 specimens in the CAS herbarium.
Specimen
Prescription
To discover,
To verify,
To heal.
Medicinal Resources
Wang's work had direct applications in public health. He personally identified a large number of specimens for the Third National Census of Chinese Herbal Medicine.
By standardizing the names and descriptions of medicinal plants ("botanical drugs"), he facilitated the modernization of traditional pharmacopoeia, allowing for the scientific verification of ancient remedies.
The National
Archives
"Clearing the national bottom line of plant resources... a task of immense importance for agriculture, forestry, and traditional medicine."
Iconographia Cormophytorum Sinicorum
Editor & Contributor
A gargantuan undertaking documenting 15,000 species. Wang completed descriptions for 10+ families and edited the entire series.
Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae
Main Contributor (Vol 27/28)
The largest botanical work in the world (50M words). Presided over Ranunculaceae volumes.
Vascular Plants of the Hengduan Mountains
Author
Documented a global biodiversity hotspot, providing data to understand the region as both a cradle and a museum for lineages.