Scientific name: Geostachys annamensis Ridl.English name: Vietnamese name: Đại sa trung bộOther name:
Geostachys annamensis is one of Vietnam’s endemic gingers – the species was described in 1921 with specimens collected in Da Lat City by Henry Nicholas Ridley Cecil Boden Kloss (1877–1949), a British zoologist (on animals and birds) during a survey in Lang Biang Plateau, in Da Lat in 1918 and identified by Henry Nicholas Ridley (1921) from the Plant Department of the British Museum. Geostachys annamensis bush (Photo by Truong Ba Vuong) So far, only about 10 specimens have been studied, in Hanoi, British museum and Paris (including only two specimens correctly identified as G. annamensis. However, there is no representative sample for VNM specimens in ITB. All these collections are derived from Lam Dong province. The last collection was done in 1980 in the Central Highlands programme.
Geostachys annamensis flower (Photo by Truong Ba Vuong)Geostachys was discovered in Hon Ba Nature Reserve. However, the species name could not be determined because of the lack of flowers. Finally, the flowers were discovered during the recent trip by scientists from the Institute of Tropical Biology in late April 2013.
This confirmed the additional distribution of Geostachys species at the altitude of 1,000 meters, and the range of G. annamensis is also extended to Khanh Hoa province. It is estimated that in the future, this interesting ginger might be found in Ninh Thuan. Flowering specimens are now stored among VNM specimens at the Institute of Tropical Biology.
Ref: http://www.vast.ac.vn/en/news/science-and-technology-news/1608-additional-acknowledgement-on-new-distribution-of-vietnam-s-endemic-ginger-at-hon-ba-nature-reserve-in-khanh-hoa-province