Scientists from the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa havesuggested preserving the rare population of a Camellia species whichwere found in the local mountainous region in 2013.

A group of researchers from the Bidoup Nui Ba National Park in theCentral Highlands province of Lam Dong and the Da Lat University foundthe species in Hon Giao Mountain Pass, which links Khanh Hoa’s coastalcity of Nha Trang with Lam Dong’s resort city of Da Lat.

This kind of tree was believed to have become extinct in the yearssince it was first discovered in Khanh Hoa province by German botanistM.Krempf in 1912.

In 1942, based on Krempf’sfindings, the French scientist F. Ganepain gave the tree its scientificname Thea krempfii Gagnep .

In the middle of 2013,researchers from Southern Institute of Ecology and officers from thelocal Department of Forest Management accidentally uncovered anindividual from this rare species on Nui Ba (Lady) mountain with noflowers, according to Khanh Hoa’s Department of Science and Technology.

In November that year, they found this plant at SonThai Mountain in the local Khanh Vinh district, which is 6km from theHon Ba Nature Reserve.

By collecting the samples ofthe species and counting flowers and seeds, the researchers identifiedit was the Camellia Krempf tree first discovered over a century ago.

Camellia Krempfii is a small tree, 8m high, and its flowers have adiameter of 5 to 7 cm. Researchers proposed that its rare genome beenlisted in the Red Book for further studying and multiplication.-VNA