With an invitation from Ma Jinshuang, the deputy director of the Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, Professor Xiang Qiuyun from North Carolina State University in the US went on an academic exchange to the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden on June 13.
Professor Xiang made an academic report on the "Origin, Evolution, and Ornamental values of Dogwood Biodiversity (Cornaceae) – With an emphasis on the evo-devo of inflorescences". In the report, she introduced the economic value and the diversities of Dogwood. She also discussed the origin and biodiversity of Cornaceae by studying their morphology, DNA order and fossils. She highlighted the developing scientific research on Cornaceae.
The report received a favorable response from the audience, including from Hu Yonghong, the executive director of the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden and more than 30 other scientists.
Professor Xiang is one of the few Chinese botanists in the US and is a member of the US Society of Plant Systematic, the Botanical Society of America (BSA), and the International Society of Plant Systematic. She is dedicated to the study of phylogenesis, biogeography, morphology evolution, and the evo-devo of Cornaceae. Professor Xiang has published more than seventy articles that have been influential in the scientific community worldwide.
