From SaPa Vietnam Photographs

Despite newly established National Parks and Nature Reserves, deforestation throughout SE Asia continues. Here, the remains of Fokeinia hodginsiii, a member of the Cupressaceae and highly valued for its rot resistant wood, has been extracted from the ground, a practice which increases erosion of the hillsides.

A young H'mong child outside of Seo My Ti in the far north. The minorities of the area, of which the H'mong are the most prominent, remain by choice mostly unassimilated into contemporary Vietnamese culture.

Paris chinensis is found rarely on Fan Xi Phan mountain, generally in dense thickets which have served as refugia from grazing animals. This species, from N. Veitnam,  has performed well in the Pacific Northwest and, unlike other Paris I grow,  often remains intact throughout much of the winter months.

Gordonia, now considered to be in the genus Polyspora, is a member of the Theaceae or Camellia family.  It is common on  Fan Si Pan at elevations of 1800-2500m, where it is in full blossom in October and November.

A closeup of Polyspora (Gordonia) macrocarpa.  I was excited to find specimens of this tree in fruit with viable, ripened seed. The new growth in spring is brilliant red.

Mangletia ( Magnolia ) species are common throughout the Hoang Lien Mt. Range- though not particularly easy to sort out taxonomically. This specimen is showing the propensity of Magnolias to produce a few flowers in autumn; most were clad in fruit.

Above 1400m in most of Asia, one of my favorite genera begins to reveal itself; the maples or genus Acer. This we believe to be closely allied to Acer tonkinense, found at 1650m. Despite its evergreen appearance, this is a deciduous species; some specimens were developing splendid burgundy autumn color.

Acer campbellii var. fansipaniensis, at 2450m

Acer davidii var. macrophyllum, a stripebark species common at 1450-1650m.

A low elevation species, at less than 1000m, this maple, being held by my friend and guide, Uoc, has foliage that competes with Acer macrophyllum in stature. Though this would probably not be adaptable to the PNW, it might prove a superb bold foliaged deciduous tree for the deep South.

The Hoang Lien Mt Range comprises a series of tall peaks from the Yunnan border south, with the tallest and most celebrated, Fan Xi Phan, rising to slightly over 3100m. The tops of most of these limestone mastifs are cloaked in species of bamboo, however the lower slopes are fantasically biodiverse.

One of the genera that has brought me back to Vietnam on numerous occasions is that of Schefflera. Elegant, evergreen trees, mostly considered to be tropical houseplants in N. America, are proving themselves to be perfectly adaptable and handsome components of the Pacific Northwest landscape. This species, S. hoi var. fansipaniensis, occurs at 1800-2500m.

On the karst limestone ridges in Northeast Vietnam on the Yunnan border, remnant forests host an array of interesting, intriguing and recently discovered trees.  Here grows the recently discovered conifer, Callitropsis vietnamensis

After three days of the toughest hiking I have every experienced, we ultimately found Callitropsis vietnamensis, photographed here in situ and a branch for closeup view.  It remained an undiscovered species until less than ten years ago, and was responsible for the name change of the Alaskan Yellow Cedar, formerly Chamaecyparis nootkatensis to Callitropsis nootkatensis.

Callitropsis vietnamensis, closeup. Note the degree of juvenile foliage present. It grew side by side with other rare conifers including Fokienia, Nageia, Amenotaxus and Pseudotsuga.

At 1000m, growing at the base of Callitropsis vietnamensis grew a rich assemblage of herbaceous plants; some familiar and some not. One that caught my eye was a beautiful apricot pink flowering species of Impatiens that I believed to be perennial.

Though this Arisaema appears similar to the autumn flowering species that occurs at upper elevations in the Hoang Lien range,  this species which we found in the vicinity of Callitropsis vietnamensis at 1100m,  obviously blossoms earlier and fruits in autumn. We will not be able to put a name to this until the seed collections ultimately blossom.