Étienne Léveillé-Bourret joined in 2015 a research expedition in Vietnam, organized by our collaborators Bruce Ford (University of Manitoba) and Julian Starr (University of Ottawa) and Vietnamese colleagues Prof. Nguyên Thị Kim Thanh and Dr. Vũ Anh Tài. This expedition was funded by the National Geographic Society.
The aim of this expedition was to study the evolution of one of the largest plant genera in the world, Carex (>2000 species). Mountains in Northern Vietnam are a hotspot of biodiversity for temperate plants. Carex is a good example, with more than 80 species displaying morphologies, ecological niches and phylogenetic affinities that represent the whole gamut of variation seen in the genus. We discovered new species to science, rediscovered extremely rare and threatened species and populations, but most importantly demonstrated that the oldest lineages of Carex survived in south-east Asia.
We are still collaborating with Bruce and Julian on southeast Asian Cyperaceae, and are planning a new expedition to Vietnam in 2023 or 2024.
Here are some publications resulting from this expedition:
- Discovery of the sister-group to Carex (Léveillé-Bourret et al. 2018a)
- Description of a new species and taxonomic revision of the genus Sumatroscirpus (Léveillé-Bourret et al. 2018b)
- Rediscovery, taxonomy and conservation status of the rare Trichophorum scabriculme (Starr et al. 2019)
- Many other studies to come…
