Abstract:
                                      A diversity analysis based upon the 
rps16 sequence of chloroplast DNA for the wild 
Dendrobium officinale found in Taining, Fujian and other areas was conducted. The results indicated an average genetic distance among 75 species of 
Dendrobium to be 0.006 6, and 0.000 6 for those from Taining. There were 5 polymorphic sites (i.e., 25% of the total) detected in the 38 wild 
D. officinale from Taining. The maximal genetic distance calculated by K-2P was 0.003 4, indicating significant sequence variations and high diversities among the Taining species.In addition, among the 5 different types of 
rps16 sequence, T2, T65, and D5 were found only in 
D. officinale collected from Taining.