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I have just been given a small plant of Xanthocyparis vietnamensis, a rare conifer with a small natural population, discovered in 1999.
For the monent I am growing it in the greenhouse but it will have to go into the garden as soon as possible. Writing in 'The Plantsman' in 2004, Phillip Cribb says: "The spectacular karst landscapes referred to above are widely distributed in northern Vietnam, the highly eroded, marble-like limestone of such mountains creates very specific environmental conditions and a unique vegetation. Tropical evergreen and semi-deciduous, broad leaved and mixed forests grow in these areas from sea level up to 1600m. However, most of this forest type lies between 300-900m. In a number of places remnants of deciduous broad-leaved or coniferous forests grow along the highest redges, usually at elevations between 1400-1700m. ...I noticed that the main colony of P(aphiopedilum) henryanum nestled on a steep cliff below an unusual conifer. This tree seemed to me to be a cypress or juniper but a very strange one indeed. Both juvenile and adult foliage occurred on the same tree and the cones were similar buit not quite the same as the cypresses I had seen elsewhere... Unfortunately, some of its branches had been felled and we surmised that the tree might have produced juvenile foliage as a reaction to the damage. Subsequent exploration ... suggests that Xanthocyparis vietnamensis is a rare and highly threatened species with, perhaps, less than 200 surviving trees. Its reddish wood is fragrant like that of many of its relatives and is used for coffins and building. The interest that its discovery generated may be enough to save it from extinction, especially if viable seed can be collected for ex situ propagation." |
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| 31th October 2026 | ||