A gigantic Po Mu tree (Fokienia hodginsii) in Tay Giang forest (Photo courtesy Tay Giang district) Quang Nam (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnam Association forConservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) has recognised a group of 400 PoMu (Fokienia hodginsii) trees in the forest of mountainous Tay Giang districtin Quang Nam province as Heritage Trees.
Deputy head officer of the district’speople’s committee Pham Thanh Hung told Viet Nam News that this is the secondgroup of the timber trees that has been found in the primeval forest. The firstgroup of 725 gigantic Po Mu trees was included on the national heritage in2015.
He said the district allocated 400hasurrounding the two groups of heritage trees as a strictly protected area.
VACNE said the trees have been wellpreserved by generations of members of the Co Tu ethnic group living in thedistrict over the centuries.
The Po Mu tree, which was included in theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatenedspecies, has been grown in the forest of Tay Giang for more than 1,000 years.
The most ancient trees are located inside aPo Mu forest on Zi’lieng mountain at 1,500m above sea level.
A view of a valley of Tay Giang forest (Photo: VNA) According to the Tay Giang authority, thereare more than 1,200 of the trees stretching across the two communes of A Xanand Tr’Hy. The biggest tree is nearly three metres in diameter and about 22m inheight.
The precious Po Mu timber is high qualitywith a unique smell and beautiful wood grain.
The tree has been on the Vietnam’s Red Booklist of endangered species since 1996.
In the district’s Axan Commune, another twoDa Sop (Ficus trees) more than 700 years old were given national heritagerecognition in 2015.
According to VACNE, 25 species of treeshave been recognised as Vietnam Heritage Trees in the Red River Delta.
Primeval forest covers three fourths of thedistrict’s 90,000ha, providing a safe haven for endangered flora and fauna andsustainable incomes from timber.-VNS/VNA
VNA
