The scientists from Germany's Institute of Botany in Dresden, the Vietnam National Museum of Nature, and Department of Botany under the Hanoi Pharmacology University, found the plant in the shadows of an evergreen forest zone in the province's Minh Hoa District.
The plant, which the scientists have named Aristolochia quangbinhensis Do, is said to belong to the Aristolochia branch of the Aristolochiaceae family.
The distinguishing characteristics of the new species, said to be similar to some found in South China, are that it has "a petiole 1.5–2.5cm long, lamina elliptic to oblong-elliptic and peduncle 1.5–2cm long covered with yellow-brown trichomes."
The scientists have suggested that the new find be listed as as a vulnerable species under criteria established by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), because its habitat is in the area with burning and cultivation activities where efforts to do away with slash-and-burn agriculture have not totally successful.
(VNS)