KFBG Blog
Did the World’s Largest Flower Once Grow in Hong Kong?
Plants & Us
Plants are great travellers and have colonised, flourished but also perished in many places. Patterns in plant distribution have emerged over many millions of years of evolution. The southeast Asia b...
KFBG discovers eight plant species newly recorded in Hong Kong
Plants & Us
Written by Jinlong Zhang With the publication of the fourth volume of Flora of Hong Kong (Hu & Wu, 2008) in 2011 and the Check List of Hong Kong Plants in 2012, 2,175 native plant species have be...
Using DNA forensics to uncover the mysteries of the medicinal orchid trade in Hong Kong
Plants & Us
Many people are fascinated by orchids because of their beautiful flowers. However, when processed orchids or their parts, such as leaves, tubers and roots, are sold as traditional Chinese medicine (T...
Helping our trees grow straight and true
Plants & Us
To plant a tree, we dig a hole, place the root ball of the seedling inside, and back-fill the gaps with soil. It is as simple as that. However, this is only the beginning of a massive, long-term comm...
Glue traps are indiscriminate and cruel - 25 rescued wild animals recorded in just the first four weeks of January 2023
Animal Stories
We have recently observed an alarming increase in the number of glue trap victims admitted to our Wild Animal Rescue Centre. We are sharing our latest statistics here in the hope it will discourage r...
Computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound are commonly used in human healthcare – but did you know that crocodilians can have them, too?
Animal Stories
Our resident crocodilians Yeung Yeung and Jo have joined a ground-breaking scientific study that utilises these techniques to assess their healthJo, a Spectacled Caiman Photo credit: Aquatic Animal ...
A Taste of Honey!
Plants & Us
As we move into the flowering season of the ivy tree (Schefflera heptaphylla), a common species native to Hong Kong, we can hear the buzzing of numerous nectar-craving insects.Ivy Treein bloom at KFB...
Donation of 150 valuable natural history specimens to the Natural History Collection at Lingnan University
Animal Stories
In 2019, Lingnan University unveiled its ambitious goal of creating a publicly accessible natural history collection of Hong Kong's amphibians and reptiles. Since then, they have collected over 500 s...
What to do if you find a bird that just hit your window?
Animal Stories
An Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) that just hit the windowThe best thing to do is to gently pick it up and transfer, as quickly as possible, to a cardboard box or container (preferab...
Can Hong Kong’s iconic Incense Tree survive and thrive?
Plants & Us
Incense Tree (Aquilaria sinensis) is a precious tree species found only in Hong Kong and south China. This tree is of high historical and cultural significance as it is believed to have given rise to...