The Introduction of Chinese Plants into the United States: The 1898–1949 Period

Since the 19th century, the United States has continuously conducted plant introductions from around the world to expand high-quality germplasm resources for agriculture and horticulture. Beginning in 1898, China—shaped by millennia of agrarian civilization and characterized by exceptionally rich biodiversity—became a key focus of these efforts. To clarify the historical trajectory of the introduction of plants originating in China into the U.S., this study compiles the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction series Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported (The Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported is a serial publication compiled by the SPI since 1898, documenting plant introduction activities of the United States worldwide. The original volumes and their digitized versions are publicly accessible through the USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL) Digital Collections. These archival records constitute the primary source of the historical plant-introduction data used in this study.) and synthesizes the history of introductions from 1898 to 1949; after verifying and analyzing the composition and selectivity of introduced taxa in terms of scientific nomenclature, spatiotemporal distribution, collectors, taxonomic structure, and plant uses, we find that 23,890 introduction records were documented, encompassing 159 families, 869 genera, and 2252 species, spanning 34 provincial-level administrative regions and 230 prefecture-level cities in China, with more than 566 collectors participating over nearly half a century, among whom F. N. Meyer, J. F. Rock, P. H. Dorsett, W. J. Morse, and F. A. McClure made particularly prominent contributions. Plant introductions from China enriched U.S. germplasm collections, expanded the genetic and functional diversity of U.S. plant resources, and reshaped the composition of agricultural and landscape systems.