Fudan University has set up a 4.6-acre botanic garden at its suburban Jiangwan campus in which rare species of medicinal trees and plants will be grown for scientific research, university officials announced Wednesday.

Teaming up with southern Fujian Province, the Mingxi Botanic Garden houses 27 species and more than 600 rare trees or plants. All were transplanted from Fujian's Mingxi County -- one of the country's most diverse areas for vegetation.

It is the country's largest campus botanic garden. Total investment exceeded 10 million yuan (US$1.25 million), a Fudan official said.

"With our own botanic garden, researchers and students in different fields will no longer have to tramp a long way to get rare samples for experiments," said Luo Qian, one of Fudan's publicity officials.

The idea of setting up a botanic garden was derived from Fudan's initial partnership with Mingxi County. The partners planted yew trees (a poisonous evergreen) and isolating taxol from it in 1998.

The species is protected. Medicine derived from the toxin of a yew tree is the best-known drug in treating both ovarian and breast cancer.

Fudan also signed an agreement to set up a biochemical engineering studies center with Mingxi County.

(Shanghai Daily June 29, 2006)