Chit Ko Ko

He produced a number of papers into botanical research he conducted in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Upon meeting U Kyaw Nyein he was told to report to Pa-O U Hla Pe, the Minister of Forests at the time.

U Aung Din also arranged for him to study Systematic Botany and Taxonomy in the Biology Department of Yangon University between 1950.

[1] In 1953, U Chit Ko Ko and senior colleague U Tha Hla met famed English plant hunter and explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward and his wife Jean Kingdon-Ward and conducted further research into plants in Myanmar.

The 1953 expedition lasted for 37 weeks and was in a region of Myanmar known as the Triangle, north of Myitkyina in the northern state of Kachin.

[5] They set off on an expedition and reached Hkinlum in several days in the alpine region where they could expect to find hardy plants.

[8] This expedition was chronicled by Chit Ko in his book, The Flower Hunter from Hkaw-Nu-Sone for which he received the Sarpay Beikman Literary Award.

In 1959 he accompanied Harold St. John, Oliver Milton, and R. D. Estes on botanical explorations within the country.

[1] In 1960, his book co-authored with John Henry Lace, R. Rodger and H. G. Hundley, List of trees, shrubs, herbs, and climbers of Burma was published by the government printing press.

His work with Frank Kingdon-Ward has been recognized by the international community, including in a 2017 exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden titled The New York Botanical Garden in Myanmar: Orchids and Beyond which highlighted the work of U Chit Ko Ko, English plant hunter Frank Kingdon-Ward, Myanmar botanist Saw Lwin, and American botanist Kate Armstrong.