Discover 83 new plant species in Viet Nam

In a recent scientific report, Dr. Pham Thanh Trang (Viet Nam National University of Forestry) and Dr. Pham Van The (Van Lang University) gave the above information.

According to the report, 83 new plant species discovered in Viet Nam were mainly herbs, vines, and shrubs. Some unique species, such as Ophiopogon muongnhensis in Dien Bien province, have been published in Phytotaxa magazine. Meanwhile, there are a few new tree species, one example being the Camellia vanlangensis in Thanh Hoa province.

This report emphasizes international collaboration, with 44/56 articles conducted by the global research community, compared to 9 articles with only Vietnamese authors and 3 with only foreign authors. This demonstrates that collaboration can play an essential role in enhancing the publication capabilities of Vietnamese researchers.

The discovery of new species provides important knowledge about biodiversity. Dr. Pham Van The emphasized that this number may be lower than in the world due to changes in the names of plant species according to molecular biology research.

Researching and discovering new plant species is important to evaluate the diversity and resource potential of plants in Viet Nam. At the same time, it opens up new opportunities in pharmacology and economics. Because among them, there are likely to be species that have high medicinal value and can save people's lives from dangerous epidemics. In addition, they may also have economic potential as ornamentals, food, or an important role in ecosystem regulation.