Detecting plants with horse-ear leaves in Vietnam

Horse ears, wood species that scientists have never known, were discovered in Dien Bien province.

Flowers of horse ears are yellow and smell
Aromatic like ripe bananas. (Photo: Vu Quang Nam)

Dr. Vu Quang Nam, botanist of Forestry University, discovered a new tree species in the historical monument of Vo Nguyen Giap, Muong Phang commune, Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province. Its scientific name is Michelia xianianhei QN Vu . Thai compatriots in Dien Bien often refer to it as "co may hu hu ma" meaning "leaves like horse ears".

Horse ears belong to Ngoc Lan family. They are large tree species with a height of about 25m, gray shells and no cracks, leaves shaped like horse ears. Their flowers are yellow and smell like ripe bananas. Fruit length is about 16 to 21cm.

The discovery of the horse ear species made the number of species in the genus Gioi in Vietnam increased to 23. This is also the fourth new species of Ngoc Lan family discovered and published by Dr. Vu Quang Nam from 2010 to present.

Dr. Vu Quang Nam's discovery was published in the Nordic Journal of Botany in October.