本文简要综述近40年来国外对植物资源利用的研究。内容涉及栽培植物的起源和进化、新作物的探索、民族植物学、综合利用方向、多样化原则、植物资源的利用兴衰史及植物园的新任务等。

The results of recent forty years’ works on the utilization of plant resources are hereby reviewed briefly. It covers the following items: the origin and evolution of cultivated plants, the exploration of new crops, ethnobotany , multiple utilization, diversity of plants, history of the utilized plant resources, and the new purpose of the botanical gardens.