Professor Wan Chun Cheng (1904 - 1983) was one of the most eminent Chinese botanists of the 20th century. Initially one of the Chinese plant collectors who followed in the wake of the Europeans after 1920, he became one of the world's leading authorities on the taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 of gymnosperms. Working at the National Central University in Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, he was instrumental in the identification in 1944 of the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, critically endangered deciduous conifer tree, sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, and one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China...

previously known only from fossils. The plant Juniperus chengii is named in his honour.

NB: Prof. Cheng is named Wan-Chun or Wan-chün Cheng in some treatises.