Road to the top

Zhou's work in the wild has enabled him to realize his initial dream to photograph more plant species than anyone else in China.

In a post on his public WeChat account, he wrote about how he managed to photograph so many plant species. He credited three key points with his success.

First, he travels to as many places as possible. "Plants have distinct regional characteristics, so visiting different locations yields diverse plant species," he wrote.

Zhou has been to all of China's provincial-level regions and special administrative regions.

Last year, he drove more than 80,000 kilometers to find plants to photograph.

Second, he takes photos of every plant he encounters in each location, as some places may be challenging to revisit.

"I appreciate the uniqueness of every plant, regardless of its appearance, believing each has its special qualities," he said. "Different from most enthusiasts who prefer beautiful flowers to unimpressive trees or grasses, I will attempt to take photos of every new species I find at a site."

His method has often led to unexpected discoveries, he said, but it has also led him to take too many photos at the locations. As a result, he frequently stays up until 2 or 3 am to organize all the pictures he takes.

Thirdly, he sets quantifiable goals for himself.

Over the years, he has collaborated with researchers in the discovery, naming and publishing of a dozen new plant species and was the lead author of two research papers.

"Along with increasing the number of my photographed species, my vision has broadened and my understanding of floral regions and plant classification has deepened," Zhou said. "I started thinking of trying to see every family of the country's flora in 2018, and then decided to see every genus in 2020. To meet these targets, I had to carefully plan my botanical trips, always with specific objectives in mind."

In 2021, he managed to view almost all families of the country's vascular plants. As of last year, there were still 470 genera of vascular plants in China that he had yet to photograph, but he remains determined to achieve his goal of seeing more than 95 percent of all the nation's genera by the end of 2027.

According to the latest Chinese plant data compiled by Professor Liu Bing from the CAS, excluding moss plants, there are a total of 359 families, 3,664 genera and 35,443 species of vascular plants.