Hong De-Yuan graduated from Institute of Botany, CAS in 1966. He is currently a professor of Institute of Botany, CAS, elected as member of CAS in 1991 and member of Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2001. He is Vice-Chairman of the Botanical Society of China, Correspondent member of the Botanical Society of America, Correspondent member of the Botanical Society of Japan, and Director of the Department of Life Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).Professor Hong has been working on systematics and evolution of plants (Campanulaceae, Paeoniaceae, Scrophulariaceae) more than 45 years, found 8 new genera and more than 50 new species. He published 260 papers and 15 books, including 4 English titles. He is the vice co-chair of the editorial committee, Flora of China.