Vietnamese scientists publish new plants for the world

The group of scientists six years ago found the pink flower plant growing on the cliffs and was surprised to know they were new species.

At the end of July, Phytotaxa - a prestigious plant magazine, belonging to SCI's scientific citation system - announced the new plant species of the world found in Quang Ngai, Vietnam.

It is Me royal source source - Phyllagathis phamhoangii VTPham, TCVu & Ranil , belongs to Chi Me source, they Buy. The new species is named after the late professor Pham Hoang Ho, author of many books specializing in plants. They belong to the rhizome, about 25cm tall, the inflorescence grows above the leaves and has a bright pink color, growing on moist cliffs in Quang Nam.

New species found in Quang Nam.(Photo: Pham Van The).

In March 2011, the scientific group of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and colleagues from Russia and Sri Lanka carried out a project to evaluate the diversity of plant values ​​in some remaining primeval forests. again along Ho Chi Minh route, limited from Quang Binh to Quang Nam.

The field trip lasted for two months. The group started from Quang Binh, through Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and to the last survey site in Quang Nam. In a remnant primitive forest in Dai Hong (Quang Nam), experts discovered plants growing in the cliffs of the mountains, only a few dozen meters from the survey road.

"The species has pink flowers, rhizomes and many hard hairs. They are quite special and most of us never met or knew which species have similar characteristics," said Pham Van The, a member of the research team. told.

Determining that this could be a new species for science, the group recorded and collected meticulously. Mr. The also analyzed photographic details of each part of the tree, paying special attention to the reproductive organs. The size and color information was carefully recorded by him.

Regarding Hanoi, the group continued to explore information related to the genus and family of this species in Vietnam and neighboring countries such as China, Thailand and Laos. They did not find any species with the same characteristics as the specimens they obtained."Even so, we are not sure whether this is a new species of the world. Even I am the direct analyst of the specimen, but I am not sure about my judgment , " said The.

New species have fresh pink flowers.(Photo: Pham Van The).

After that, Mr. The turned over the old data, which is a record of the sample collection, and found a similar specimen collected in Quang Binh in 2008. The process of finding this specimen is quite hard and takes a lot of time. . He transferred the data to some colleagues and contacted the international expert to publish but they did not receive it, because the materials about the Buy them in Vietnam were quite small.

Data and specimens are complete, but the process of identifying it as a new species is not simple. The members of the group almost gave up. It was not until 5 years later that Mr. The contacted a person who was researching on the Buy family of Vietnam and affirmed "never known that species".

Another colleague in Sri Lanka also said: "No species found in the world like that".

Since then, scientists decided to write a newspaper to submit a specialized journal to announce the new species. The manuscript is submitted to a scientific journal in early 2017 and is accepted and published at the end of July.

Rhizomes of tuberous roots with many hard hairs of the Me species.(Photo: Pham Van The).

The area found new species that are severely impacted because they are not in the special-use forests, so they are often exploited for timber, so the scientific group recommended to conserve this species and put it in an emergency situation.

This publication helps supplement a new plant species for the world as well as Vietnam. From there experts can consider the potential of medicinal plants or the ability to propagate for ornamental purposes, or it may be a source of precious genes.