Chen Yi
Jane McGary (Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:41:58 PDT)

The export plant operation of Chen Yi has been written up several
times in the Rock Garden Quarterly, which I formerly edited. One
article, by Jim McClements, was appropriately titled "The Chinese
Grab Bag." I never bought directly from her, but bulbs I purchased
from Paul CHristian, which he apparently got from her, were mostly
misnamed. Dr. McClements does write that he got some very interesting
plants from this source, but is still trying to identify some of them.

My understanding is that Ms. Chen buys and resells bulbs that are
both collected in the wild and propagated on small nurseries in
China. There seems to be no real control over sources or
identification. For instance, I got the same thing under three
different names.

I strongly advise that this not be posted as a link on the PBS
website. The flora of China is being destroyed in many ways, and
collecting for ornamental uses probably is far less destructive than
collecting for traditional "medicine," but still we should never
encourage the former practice. Only seeds and cuttings should be
taken from wild plants.

To go off on a bit of a tangent, if you've noticed that cashmere is
no longer a costly luxury, it's because vast herds of goats are being
raised for it in China and Mongolia, resulting in greatly intensified
habitat destruction. When I found out about this, I swore off buying
this fiber, and suggest others do so.

Jane McGary