Taibai Mountains, located at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains,
are composed of the Yuan Taibai Mountain (also known as East Taibai
Mountain), Aoshan Mountain (also known as West Taibai Mountain) and
their connection part. With its complex geographical and climatic
conditions, Taibai Mountains are extremely rich in wild plant resources.
Based on field investigation, literature review and specimen
identification, wild vascular plants resources and their diversity in
Taibai Mountains were studied by the sixth Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM) Resources Scientific Expedition Team of Shenyang Pharmaceutical
University. 222 species of vascular plants belonging to 163 genera and
63 families were collected during July 2012 in this area, and most of
the plants are angiosperms. The families with more species are
Liliaceae, Ranunculaceae, Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Saxifragaceae, and
the dominant genus are Aconitum, Sedum, Eleutherococcus, Pedicularis,
Polygonatum, and Patrinia. In terms of life form, perennial herbs are
the main species, accounting for 72.97% of the total species, with
others being some annual (or biennial) herbs, shrubs and lianas. Among
all the collected vascular plants, 170 species of them are medicinal
vascular plants, accounting for 76.58% of the total. Most of the
medicinal parts are roots and rhizomes, followed by the whole plants.
Finally, on the basis of investigation and study, some suggestions are
put forward to strengthen the protection and utilization of plant
resources in Taibai Mountains.