A new flowering plant species discovered by scientists at the Phong Dien Nature Reserve in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam more than one year ago was officially announced in a specialized magazine last weekend.

The new flora has the scientific name ‘Deinostigma serratum F.Wen, L.N.Tuan & D.Dien,’ which belongs to the genus Deinostigma W.T.Wang & Z.Y.Li of the family Gesneriaceae, as published in Taiwania, an international journal of biodiversity, on Sunday.

The standard samples of the new plant are kept at the Vietnam Museum of Nature, Le Ngoc Tuan, director of Thua Thien-Hue Province Forest Protection Department, said on Monday.

Tuan and his colleagues from the Central Institute of Scientific Research, the University of Agriculture and Forestry under the Hue University, and China’s Guangxi Institute of Botany made their discovery at the natural reserve in December 2020.

They found the new plant growing on wet cliffs near the waterfalls and stream banks near the Rao Trang River in the reserve.

The scientists sent the DNA of the discovered plant to many research institutes in the world for verification of whether it is really new.

It was not until recently that they received confirmation that it is a new species, Tuan said.

“This is extremely exciting news not only for scientists but also for forest conservationists like us, as it demonstrates the biodiversity of the Phong Dien Nature Reserve,” Tuan said.

Despite just being discovered, the new plant has been listed among vulnerable species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, so it needs to be strictly protected, according to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper. 

This species, which has beautiful flowers, should be preserved to create a beautiful landscape in the area, Tuan said.

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