Camellia Flosculora (Photo: Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park) Lam Dong (VNS/VNA) - Four new species of camellia (a genus offlowering plants in the family Theaceae) and Begonia (a genus of perennialflowering plants in the family of Begoniaceae) – have been found in Bidoup-NuiBa National Park in Lam Dong province by a group of Vietnamese andinternational scientists and researchers.
Dr Le Van Huong, director of the park, told Viet Nam News that reports of thenew four plants – including two camellia species (Camellia Flosculora andCamellia bidoupensis) and two begonia species (begonia hongiaoensis and begonialamdongiana) – have been recently published by Phytotaxa (a botany journal);Brittonia (a peer-reviewed botanical journal) and International CamelliaSociety.
Huong said the discoveries were thanks to the great efforts made by researchersand scientists during field surveys at the park.
He said the results once again prove the rich biodiversity of the park and theimportance of international cooperation in research on finding new species.
The four new species were found at the park during field surveys by scientistsfrom the Southern Institute of Ecology, the Da Lat University, the VNUUniversity of Science, Dr Cecilia Koo Botanic Conservation Centre (KBCC), anon-governmental organisation for tropical plant conservation in Taiwan, andthe park in the 2018-20 period.
Several new or newly recorded species were found in recent investigations inthe park under the ‘Botanical survey in Lang Biang Plateau’, that helpedincrease the inventory of botanical diversity of Vietnam.
At least 90 begonia species were reported in Vietnam, and only three Begoniaspecies had been found in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park.
It is clear that this is an underestimation because over three begonias havebeen recorded based on field surveys. Due to the vast land area of the forest,more new begonias could be expected once more areas within the National Parkare explored botanically, reports said.
The Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, which covers roughly 70,000 hectares, 91 percentof which is primary forest, is rich in flora and fauna.
About 2,075 species of flora – one-sixth of Vietnam’s total – have been foundhere, while 301 bird species (30 per cent of all birds in the country) havealso been spotted.
Huong said the newest camellia (Polyspora huongiana), discovered in 2012 bybiologists from both Vietnam and the Royal Botanic Garden Australia, was namedafter him for his scientific contributions to conservation.
The park has been cooperating with the World Bank (WB), the Asia DevelopmentBank (ADB), JICA, USAID, and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ)in different programmes focusing on the research and protection of flora andfauna and has supported sustainable livelihoods for ethnic groups./.
Dr Le Van Huong, director of the park, told Viet Nam News that reports of thenew four plants – including two camellia species (Camellia Flosculora andCamellia bidoupensis) and two begonia species (begonia hongiaoensis and begonialamdongiana) – have been recently published by Phytotaxa (a botany journal);Brittonia (a peer-reviewed botanical journal) and International CamelliaSociety.
Huong said the discoveries were thanks to the great efforts made by researchersand scientists during field surveys at the park.
He said the results once again prove the rich biodiversity of the park and theimportance of international cooperation in research on finding new species.
The four new species were found at the park during field surveys by scientistsfrom the Southern Institute of Ecology, the Da Lat University, the VNUUniversity of Science, Dr Cecilia Koo Botanic Conservation Centre (KBCC), anon-governmental organisation for tropical plant conservation in Taiwan, andthe park in the 2018-20 period.
Several new or newly recorded species were found in recent investigations inthe park under the ‘Botanical survey in Lang Biang Plateau’, that helpedincrease the inventory of botanical diversity of Vietnam.
At least 90 begonia species were reported in Vietnam, and only three Begoniaspecies had been found in Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park.
It is clear that this is an underestimation because over three begonias havebeen recorded based on field surveys. Due to the vast land area of the forest,more new begonias could be expected once more areas within the National Parkare explored botanically, reports said.
The Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, which covers roughly 70,000 hectares, 91 percentof which is primary forest, is rich in flora and fauna.
About 2,075 species of flora – one-sixth of Vietnam’s total – have been foundhere, while 301 bird species (30 per cent of all birds in the country) havealso been spotted.
Huong said the newest camellia (Polyspora huongiana), discovered in 2012 bybiologists from both Vietnam and the Royal Botanic Garden Australia, was namedafter him for his scientific contributions to conservation.
The park has been cooperating with the World Bank (WB), the Asia DevelopmentBank (ADB), JICA, USAID, and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ)in different programmes focusing on the research and protection of flora andfauna and has supported sustainable livelihoods for ethnic groups./.
VNA
