2, Dam. International Journal of Water Resources 
Development, 36(2-3): 351-370. doi:10.1080/079006 
2.7.2019.1677456 
4 Of the thirty-three conifer species documented 
in the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam, thirteen 
are members of the pine family (Pinaceae). The 
cypress and yellowwood families (Cupressaceae and 
Podocarpaceae, respectively) include seven species 
each. The yew family (Taxaceae) has five species, 
and the plum yews (Cephalotaxaceae) have one. In 
particular, the Da Lat Plateau in central Vietnam has 
sixteen species of conifers, representing the highest 
conifer diversity in Indochina. Ninety percent of 
these, however, are nationally threatened. Loc, P.K., 
The, P.V., Long, P.K., Regalado, J., Averyanov, L. V., 
and Maslin, B. 2017. Native conifers of Vietnam—A 
review. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 49(5): 2037-2068. 
5 While Glyptostrobus has few extant populations, the 
genus has existed for more than one hundred million 
years, dating back to at least the middle Cretaceous, 
and was once quite abundant. Fossils of the genus 
can be found across all of Asia and North America 
and as far north as Axel Heiberg Island in the Arctic. 
See: Greenwood, D.R., and Basinger, J. F. 1994. The 
paleoecology of high-latitude Eocene swamp forests 
from Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic. 
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 81(1): 
83-97. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(94)90128-7; Vickulin, 
SeVenMa OW. )Zhilin, S¥G* and sci12G:.S. -2003.-On 
cuticular compressions of Glyptostrobus europaeus 
(Taxodiaceae) from Kaydagul Formation (Lower 
Miocene) of the Central Kazakhstan. Acta Botanica 
Sinica, 45(6): 673-680; Jahren, A.H. 2007. The Arctic 
forest of the middle Eocene. Annual Review Earth 
Planetary Science, 35: 509-540. 
6 To read more about the stands in Vietnam and China, 
see: Averyanov, L., Phan, K., Nguyen, T., Nguyen, S., 
Nguyen, T., and Pham, T. 2009. Preliminary observation 
of native Glyptostrobus pensilis |Taxodiaceae) stands 
in Vietnam. Taiwania, 54(3): 191-212. doi:10.6165/ 
tai.2009.54(3).191; Tang, C.Q., Yang, Y., Momohara, 
A, wang H.-G. Louueesr iS Song *K.,.Qian, S-, 
LePage, B., Dong, Y.-F., Han, P.-B., Ohsawa, M., Le, B.T., 
Tran, H.D., Dang, M.T., Peng, M.-C., and Wang, C.-Y. 
2019. Forest characteristics and population structure 
of Glyptostrobus pensilis, a globally endangered relict 
species of southeastern China. Plant Diversity, 41(4): 
237-249. doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2019.06.007; Wu, X., 
Ruhsam, M., Wen, Y., Thomas, P.I., Worth, J.R., 
Lin, X.,. Wang, Mo Li x. Chen L., Lanixay,.v. Lé 
Canh, N., and Coffman, G.C. 2020. The last primary 
forests of the Tertiary relict Glyptostrobus pensilis 
contain the highest genetic diversity. Forestry: An 
International Journal of Forest Research, 93(3): 359- 
375. doi:10.1093/forestry/cpz063; Li, F.G., and Xia, 
N.H. 2004. The geographical distribution and cause of 
threat to Glyptostrobus pensilis (Taxodiaceae). Journal 
of Tropical and Subtropical Botany, 12(1): 13-20. 
Glyptostrobus 2,7 
7 It is interesting to note that pneumatophores of the 
trees in Vietnam measure about 2 feet (0.6 meters) 
tall on average, similar to those in Laos; however, 
the pneumatophores were more abundant in Laos, 
sometimes numbering dozens per tree and usually 
much shorter. 
8 McDowell, D., Scudder, T., and Talbot, L.M. 2007. 
Twelfth Report of the International Environmental 
and Social Panel of Experts for the Nam Theun 2 
Hydro Project. Vientiane: Lao People’s Democratic 
Republic. 
9 For more on the environmental threats in Southeast 
Asia: Hughes, A.C. 2017. Mapping priorities 
for conservation in Southeast Asia. Biological 
Conservation, 209: 395-405. doi:10.1016/j. 
biocon.2017.03.007; Sodhi, N., Posa, M., Lee, T., 
Bickford, D., Koh, L., and Brook, B. 2010. The state 
and conservation of Southeast Asian biodiversity. 
Biodiversity and Conservation, 19(2): 317-328. 
doi:10.1007/s10531-009-9607-5; Nooren, H., and 
Claridge, G. 2001. Wildlife trade in Laos: The end 
of the game. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN-The World 
Conservation Union; Appanah, S., Shono, K., and 
Durst, P.B. 2015. Restoration of forests and degraded 
lands in Southeast Asia. Unasylva, 66(245): 52-62. 
10 For more on conservation of the saola: Tilker, A., Long, 
B., Gray, T.N.E., Robichaud, W., Van Ngoc, T., Vu Linh, 
N., Holland, J., Shurter, S., Comizzoli, P., Thomas, P., 
Ratajszczak, R. and Burton, J. 2017. Saving the saola 
from extinction. Science (American Association 
for the Advancement of Science), 357(6357): 1248. 
doi:10.1126/science.aap9591 
The map in this article was created using Esri, USGS, 
USFS, NGA, NASA, CGIAR, N Robinson, NCEAS, NLS, 
OS, NMA, Geodatastyrelsen, Rijkswaterstaat, GSA, 
Geoland, FEMA, Intermap and the GIS user community. 
Gretchen C. Coffman is a wetland restoration ecologist 
and a senior lecturer at the National University of 
Singapore. She teaches wetland restoration ecology, 
biogeography, applied ecology, and research methods 
in physical geography. From 2010 to 2019, she taught 
field ecology courses in the Environmental Science 
Department, the Masters of Science in Environmental 
Management program, and 
the Environmental Studies 
program at the University of 
San Francisco. 
Dedication 
I dedicate this manuscript 
to the late James Maxwell 
(1945-2015). He was an 
intrepid botanist, fervent 
collector, a character like no 
other, exemplar taxonomy 
mentor, and trusted friend. James Maxwell in 2007 
GRETCHEN C. COFFMAN 
