1. Introduction:

1.1 The purpose of the Flora of China project is to produce for the first time an English language flora of all the vascular plants of China. The project is being carried out under the supervision of a Joint Editorial Committee, which makes all policy decisions concerning the Flora.

1.2 Many botanists will be involved in producing the Flora of China. These guidelines are to help authors, editors, and reviewers to produce treatments that are as consistent as possible within a given volume and between various volumes of the Flora. It is recommended that contributors also consult the published volumes of the Flora of China for examples but not for manuscript formatting details (see section 26). However, because of inevitable minor changes in policy through time, the most recent guidelines adopted by the Editorial Committee, rather than the published volumes, will be the final word for editorial policy.