Our beloved Prof Shiu-Ying Hu passed away this morning (22 May 2012) at the age of 102.  Prof Hu received her BSc from Ginling Women’s College (now part of Nanjing Normal University) and MSc from Lingnan University (now part of Sun Yatsen University). After World War II, she went to the US and became the first Chinese woman receiving a PhD in Botany from Harvard University. She then devoted over 30 years as a research botanist in Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. In 1968, she joined the Department of Biology, CUHK, as a Senior Lecturer and retired in 1975. After retirement, she continued her active research in both the Harvard University Herbaria and CUHK Herbarium. She was a renowned expert in the plant genera of Ilex (Aquifoliaceae), Hemerocallis (Amaryllidaceae) and Panax (Araliaceae), the Chinese families of Orchidaceae, Compositae, and Malvaceae, and Chinese medicinal herbs and food plants. She published over 200 articles and books. Her contributions to plant systematics and economic applications gained her many awards and decorations, including the Bronze Bauhinia Star of the HKSAR Government in 2001 and the CUHK Honorary Fellowship in 2002. She was listed as an “Outstanding Chinese” in the Success Stories Series produced by RTHK in 2003 and one of the top ten Loving Hearts of Hong Kong by ATV in 2010. She will be remembered as a great scholar and botanist with everlasting influence in our mind and heart.