Discovered 2 species of yellow lilies tea for science at Vu Quang National Park

Researchers on plants in Vietnam have continued to discover two new species of plants for science in Vu Quang National Park (Ha Tinh), which are two rare and precious yellow flowering tea species.

On July 10, information from Vu Quang National Park said the researchers named the two species of yellow-flowered tea from the location it was found, the first is Vu Quang mi tea (Camellia vuquangensis). ) , the second species is Hà Tĩnh tea (Camellia hatinhensis) .

Vu Quang lilies and flowers (Camellia vuquangensis) - (Photo: Viet Hung).

Two species have just been found in the genus miell (Camellia) of the tea family (Theaceae). What is special is that both species of tea mi are found to be yellow-flowered tea, which is of great interest to researchers in the world. These two species have never been described in previous forms in Vu Quang National Park area.

Vu Quang mi tea species (Camellia vuquangensis) is characterized by shrub, 3-4m tall, narrow oblong leaves, young branches, light purple young leaves; single flowers in the branches, 8-9.5cm in diameter; Results not yet seen.

In Vu Quang National Park, this species was discovered at low elevations from 50-100m above sea level, distributed in habitats along rivers and streams, the number of individuals found very little.

Tra mi Ha Tinh (Camellia hatinhensis) - (Photo: Viet Hung).

The second species is Ha Tinh mi tea (Camellia hatinhensis) characterized by small shrubs or wood, 4-6m high, young branches with feathers; oval leaves oblong to lanceolate, 3-5cm wide, 11-15cm long; lone flower in the branchlet has a diameter of 8-9cm, petals are white and light yellow; spherical fruits 3.5-4cm wide, with bracts existing, hairy, fruits open 3 cells, pillars between pepper reduced, each cell 1-2 (3) seeds; wedge-shaped seeds, hemispheres, 1.6-1.9cm tall, 1.1-1.4cm wide, smooth. In Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh litchi species are widely distributed from the belt of 100-700m above sea level, growing together with predominant species such as Devil's face (Hopia mollissima), chestnut (Lithocarpus sp), Balansea tank. (Beilschmiedia balansae) .

According to researchers, the world's yellow-flowered tea species are classified as one of the precious plants with many values ​​that need to be propagated and preserved. There are more than 200 different kinds of yellow-flowered teas in the world and Vietnam is very lucky to contribute 24 kinds of yellow flower tea (accounting for 12% of the total number of yellow flower teas in the world) and is considered a natural genetic resource. Extremely rare.

Ha Tinh lettuce (Camellia hatinhensis) - (Photo: Viet Hung).

With this new discovery, Vu Quang National Park has added 2 species of yellow lilies tea to Vietnam in particular and the world in general. In the coming time, Vu Quang National Park will have specific researches and develop this rare and precious medicinal resource. However, with unexplained exploitation and threat of loss of habitat at present, in the next few years, yellow flower tea may disappear in Vietnam.