THE PAGE <strong>BULLETIN</strong> 12 / JANUARY 2005 THE <strong>BULLETIN</strong> / DECEMBER PAGE 2010 13
PAGE THE <strong>BULLETIN</strong> 14 / DECEMBER 2010 THE <strong>BULLETIN</strong> / JANUARY PAGE 2005 13This Vietnam expedition was arranged by the NationalHistory Museum in Paris that also funded the missionin cooperation with Northern Mountainous Agricultureand Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI) in Pho Tho,North Vietnam and the Institute of Tropical Biology inHo Chi Minh City (Saigon). Dr. Thomas Haevermans,Paris; Prof. Le Cong Kiet and M.Sc. Ngoc Sam Lyfrom Saigon also participated in the mission. In addition,M.Sc. Tien Dung Trieu from the Phu Tho ResearchCenter participated as the mission as a guideduringthe northern part of the mission.is regarded as one of the four important centers of biodiversity,especially for the Musa section Callimusa species.The other important areas are Borneo, Peninsular Malaysiaand Sumatra.Expedition MethodIn my earlier expeditions to Southeast Asia during the periodfrom 1988 to 2007, we used the same basic method toconduct research. First my colleagues and I reviewed theareas we planned to study. Then with the help of the localauthorities and citizens, we traveled to various places suchas nature reserves and parks. By following a plan, wewere able to cover most of the areas that we hadplanned to study, but our treks into remote areas werenecessarily based more on visual observations as wellas interviews and guidance from local people, as localauthorities were so unfamiliar with wild Musa species.As a result, unstudied areas still remain, some ofwhich I hope to explore during subsequent trips.Standing on the Vietnamese-China borderThe aim of this expedition during the five-week periodwas to conduct research on wild bananas throughoutthe country, especially in remote areas, beginning in theextreme north near the Chinese border and continuingto the southernmost region near the Cambodian border.Some of Vietnam's wild bananas are unknown to scienceand need proper description and classification.We had considered also paying for a week-long expeditionto northern Laos, but that idea was dropped becauseour tight schedule was already too optimistic,taking into consideration the poor roads. We plannedthe mission for this time of year as the monsoon rainshad already ended. Thus the roads were much lessprone to the landslides that occur frequently during therainy season. The Vietnam climate differs greatly fromnorth to south, though both regions experience monsoons.From November to April, the north is cool anddry, but hot and rainy from May through October. Conversely,the south is hot and humid all year, particularlyfrom February to May, while the rains last from May toNovember. The Central Highlands climate is similar tothe south, but somewhat cooler; winter temperaturescan drop to freezing. The region where North Vietnamparallels China's south Yunnan and Guangzi provincesThe total distances that we drove in Vietnam were1990 Km in the first part in the north and 2360 Km onthe second part in the south. We collected some 65Musa specimens for herbaria; DNA analysis and suckersto be grown at Kiet’s university in Saigon. In addition,Dr. Haevermans collected some Euphorbia andPandanus samples. In conclusion I have to say thatthis was a very hard mission, wherein we spent 12hours a day on the road, then in evening after dinnerchecking over the daily collection for some 2 hours ormore. Luckily it was possible for me to take naps inthe car along the way as the young men were eager towatch for bananas with their keen eyes.Author admitted to the Linnean <strong>Society</strong> of London in MayThis article is adapted by Gabriel Sachter-Smith from:Hakkinen, Markku. 2010. Fruit Gardener, California RareFruit Growers. 42(5):2, 25-28.
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