In China, there is only one tree found!
There are nearly 60,000 species of trees worldwide. Trees play a significant ecological role. They define and shape forest ecosystems, covering about 31% of the Earth’s land area. Trees help protect the environment and provide local livelihoods, national economies, and global trade.
Notably, many tree species are on the brink of extinction in the wild. According to the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), approximately 17,500 tree species are at risk of extinction. Among these, more than 440 tree species are critically endangered, meaning there are fewer than 50 individuals of each species remaining in the wild.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List continuously updates the status and declining populations of plant species globally to call for efforts to protect and conserve the diversity of tree species.
In 2013, the IUCN Red List included a tree species found only in Vietnam and partly in China in its list of threatened species, classifying it as EN – Endangered in the wild.
This tree species is the Golden Vietnamese Cypress.
A Treasure of the Ba Dinh Mountain Range
The Golden Vietnamese Cypress (scientific name: Xanthocyparis vietnamensis), also known as the golden cypress or Vietnamese yellow cedar, belongs to the Cupressaceae family, the class of conifers.
Close-up of the Golden Vietnamese Cypress. (Source: CJ Earle).
The Golden Vietnamese Cypress was previously assessed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered based on its very limited distribution (EOO), habitat area (AOO), and continuous decline in population.
This species was first discovered in the Ba Dinh Mountain Range in Quan Ba District, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam. Since that discovery, very small subpopulations have also been found in two other provinces in northern Vietnam (Cao Bang and Tuyen Quang) in 1999.
In April 2012, a single tree was reported from the Mulun Nature Reserve in Guangxi Province, China. The actual distribution range of this species in China remains unknown.
Based on current information, the estimated occurrence range is about 16,500 square kilometers. The habitat area is uncertain but is believed to be over 10 square kilometers, including 5-6 sites with severely fragmented subpopulations.
Surveys in Vietnam indicate that the total number of mature Golden Vietnamese Cypress individuals may range from 500 to 1,000, mostly located in the Ba Dinh Mountain area, growing at altitudes above 1,000 meters. The general trend of this population is believed to be declining. Due to this rarity, the Golden Vietnamese Cypress is regarded as a “treasure” of the Ba Dinh Mountain Range and the world at large.
Based on various analyses, the current popular view is that the Golden Vietnamese Cypress (Xanthocyparis vietnamensis) is “related” to two New World cypress species – Callitropsis and Hesperocyparis.
Why is this Golden Vietnamese Cypress considered “related” to two species that are currently endemic to North and Central America? Through phylogenetic analysis, scientists found that the divergence between the Golden Vietnamese Cypress and other New World cypress species occurred during the Eocene epoch around 45 million years ago when a warm and humid climate existed at high latitudes.
It is likely that the ancestors of modern Golden Vietnamese Cypress were present in the northern regions of both North America and Asia during the Eocene. As the climate gradually changed, the New World cypress and their Asian relatives – of which Xanthocyparis vietnamensis is the only surviving species – also moved southward in search of suitable habitats.
Main Threats to the Golden Vietnamese Cypress
According to biologists, the Golden Vietnamese Cypress is a small to medium-sized tree (10-15 meters). The trunk is round, straight, and single-stemmed. The bark is purplish to reddish-brown, smooth, and thin on the branches, peeling in patches and thin strips; on mature trees, the bark is brown to gray-brown, soft and fibrous, peeling in many thin strips. The branches are long and spread horizontally to some extent.
The Golden Vietnamese Cypress has a round, straight trunk. (Photo: Brewbooks/CC-BY-SA-4.0).
This species typically grows alongside other conifers (the dominant species being Pseudotsuga sinensis) and small-leaved angiosperms, epiphytic orchids, ferns, and mosses.
In Guangxi (China), the Golden Vietnamese Cypress has been recorded to grow at an altitude of 720 meters above sea level; while in Vietnam, this tree typically grows at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 1,600 meters above sea level.
A unique characteristic of the Golden Vietnamese Cypress is that it grows in inaccessible or difficult-to-reach locations on the edges and peaks of steep limestone formations.
However, many people still risk their lives to exploit the Golden Vietnamese Cypress for its timber.
Logging is the primary threat to the population of the Golden Vietnamese Cypress. Notably, logging activities have increased in recent years, causing a severe decline in the number of well-growing large trees. This may have negatively impacted the genetic diversity of this rare tree species.
The wood of the Golden Vietnamese Cypress is yellow-brown with a distinct aromatic scent. (Photo: Internet).
The wood of this species, as well as its leaves, is highly sought after in East Asian culture. The genus name Xanthocyparis comes from Greek, meaning “golden cypress,” referring to the beautiful color of the wood of the Golden Vietnamese Cypress.
This species’ wood has “universal appeal”: fine grain, beautiful yellow-brown color, extremely hard, and has a strong aroma.
The excellent quality of the wood, combined with the high demand for this rare wood among the wealthy in East Asia (for building houses, feng shui items, handicrafts, etc.) along with its slow growth rate, has made the Golden Vietnamese Cypress an extremely valuable type of wood.
The Golden Vietnamese Cypress is strictly protected by the government. (Source: Thuvienphapluat).
Currently, the Golden Vietnamese Cypress is classified as Group IA in the List of Endangered, Rare, and Precious Forest Plants and Animals (according to Decree 84/2021/ND-CP dated September 22, 2021, by the Government), prohibiting all acts of exploitation and trade.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) refer to the tree as the “main ecosystem engineer” because it can clean water, prevent erosion, control flooding, sequester carbon, regulate air temperature, and improve air quality;
At the same time, trees provide many valuable products for local livelihoods, national economies, and global trade. Wood, firewood, pulp, medicinal products, fragrances, fruits, and seeds are among the most valuable products sourced from trees.
Therefore, efforts to protect tree species at risk of extinction at the local, national, and international levels play a crucial role in conserving and promoting plant diversity for the Earth.
