How Logan Botanic Garden helps Vietnam's plant life

More than 6,000 miles separate south west Scotland from north west Vietnam.

However, the Logan Botanic Garden could have a part to play in safeguarding species from the "biodiversity hotspot" in the Hoang Lien mountain range.

Curator Richard Baines is part of a botanical mission to collect data and seeds from endangered plants.

With many species increasingly at risk, he can bring them back and grow them in the safe surroundings of Galloway.

Richard is part of a wider team heading to the snake-infested jungles and dangerous mountain terrain.

It includes Hanoi's Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens and Blarney Castle and Gardens.

They are on a three-week expedition to explore the flora of the region.

"We'll be going out really to examine different plant species which are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)," said Richard.

"These include many species of rhododendron, magnolias, camellias - which are endangered in their natural habitat due to logging, expansion of agriculture, climate change and tourism."

Previous expeditions have identified four new groups of organism that were completely new to science, with another six new species potentially in the pipeline.

"People often - when they think about northern Vietnam - think it's a very tropical or subtropical country," he said.

"But, in the north, the mountains rise to over 13,000ft (4,000m) with the Fansipan being the tallest mountain in Indochina."

"This expedition will be going to Pu Ta Leng, Pu Si Lung and Mu Cang Chai which are three new mountains for us to explore and botanise and hopefully we'll find some new species which have never been classified as new to science before and it's really, really exciting."

He said that seeds could be brought back to Port Logan in Dumfries and Galloway where they could do well.

"It's very strange when you think about it, but the climate of Logan Botanic Garden and the climate of the mountains of north-western Vietnam are very similar," he explained.

"At 13,000ft, you could get probably about -4C (25F) and that's quite similar to what we could get here at Logan.

"So a lot of the species which are growing out there are really thriving here."

Richard said the mission was an important one.

"This particular area of Vietnam is what's known as a biodiversity hotspot, it has got a lot of an awful lot of plant species which are classified as endangered because of expansion of agriculture, climate change and tourism," he said.

"If we are going to conserve any particular species, the first thing we need to do is to identify what the species grown in an ecosystem are.

"Once we've identified those, we collect the specimens, we cultivate them and then we can propagate them on thereafter."

Sometimes the plants are returned to their native surroundings but - if that is not possible - they could be brought back to Logan.

"What we're wanting to do is to look particularly at magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias, and ideally to discover some new species," said Richard.

They also hope to bring back species which are not in general cultivation to help boost their conservation status.

"That's our dream - that's what we're trying to do," he said.

"Part of a botanic garden is the conservation of plant species and where plants are classified as vulnerable to get them more commonly grown, that's the real aim."

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