The Hoang Lien Mountains
The Hoang Lien Mountains mark the south eastern most extension of the Himalayas. At their heart is the Hoang Lien National Park, which contains Indochina’s highest peak, Fan Xi Pan, reaching 3,143m above sea level. The park is home to nearly a quarter of Vietnam’s endemic species, with new plant species still being discovered and described including Magnolia sapaensis, which was only described scientifically in 2010. It is named for the Sapa setlement, that is now a tourist centre in the north west, and was our expedition base. Disanthus ovatifolius, an exciting member of the witch hazel family, the Hamamelidaceae, that has been in cultivation since 2006 under the name Uocodendron whartonii, was formally described as recently as June this year. This is a hugely botanically rich and exciting region!
Over the course of our expedition, we were to collect herbarium specimens, take images and describe the plants we encountered, to build on the knowledge of the flora of the region. Our long-term project goals include the publication of a comprehensive flora of the region and sustainable forest management plans.
Field work
The field work was focused in two key areas. The first was the massif known as Five Fingers.
This area has been little explored and we understand that we were the first group of western botanists to tackle the route we took on our four-day trek.
The second was Y Ty (pronounced ee-tee), a mountain to the northwest, five or so miles from the Yunnan border, where we spent a further three days exploring.
I was part of an extremely knowledgeable and experienced team. On Five Fingers, I was accompanied by Andy Hill, Douglas Justice (both UBC), Dan Hinkley (Heronswood, US), Nguyen Van Du, Bui Hong Quang along with Master’s students Trân Đúc Bình and Doan Hoang Son (All IEBR). For Y Ty we were joined by Scot McMahan (ABG), Donglin Zhang (University of Georgia) and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones (Crûg Farm Plants).
We were escorted by a merry band of porters, who are, quite frankly, some of the most incredible people I have ever come across. They tackled challenging terrain with unbelievable ease, wearing little more than sandals to protect their feet.
What’s more, they managed this while carrying tents, food supplies and most of our belongings. By the time we rolled (almost literally) into the makeshiſt campsites in the evenings, the tents were always up and dinner almost ready.
Key points (3- 4)
CHINA
20 words each Fan Xi Pan
Five Fingers Y Ty
Hanoi
THAILAND
LAOS Vietnam CAMBODIA
Ho Chi Minh City
Credit: Dan Crowley WESTONBIRT AUTUMN 2017 11
Along the way
We collected: • 290 herbarium specimens
• from 59 families
We discovered: • 4 species, completely new
to science!
At an altitude of: • 1340–2393m
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