Cat Tien National Park - the unique ‘Amazon’ of Vietnam: Decipher the giant Afzelia xylocarpa tree named ‘Bac Dong’

Bài liên quan

Excitement upon seeing animals at night

Coming to Cat Tien National Park on a sunny day, I was led by fellow guards of the national park to see the endemic flora of this largest primeval forest in the country. The entire large forest surrounded by the Dong Nai river has helped Cat Tien National Park separate from the social life outside and prevent encroachment. The river helps the garden create a rich and diverse flora, forming a poetic Cat Tien with charming wild nature.

According to the Board of Directors of Cat Tien National Park, currently Cat Tien is home to 1,610 species of plants and 1,568 species of animals. In which, 31 species of plants and 84 species of animals are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam, and 50 species of birds are prioritized for global protection and recorded in the 2008 IUCN Red Book.

In terms of flora, the predominant members belong to Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae and Lythraceae. The forest is divided into 5 main forest types: evergreen broadleaf forest, semi-deciduous evergreen broadleaf forest, mixed wood and bamboo forest, pure bamboo forest, and wetland vegetation. There are rare species of trees named in the Red Book such as Afzelia xylocarpa, Sindora cochinchinensis H.Baill, Ba Ria rosewood, Siamese rosewood, Dalbergia mammosa, and Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz.

There are particular trees living for hundreds of years with unique shapes. And among them, the most popular one is a more than 700-year-old Afzelia xylocarpa, 30 m tall. The trunk diameter in the lower part is nearly 4m, thus it is given the name “Bac Dong”.

According to the records of Cat Tien National Park, in 1988, the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong visited Tri An hydroelectric plant, the largest hydroelectric plant at that time. The late Prime Minister visited Cat Tien National Park as the park was located in an important position to keep water upstream of the Dong Nai river. Here, he stopped in front of the Afzelia xylocarpa tree which was commonly called “ca te” or “ho bi” in Vietnamese.

Seeing the trees grow well, the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong praised the forest staff and advised them to further ignite the spirit of forest protection. Later, officials at Cat Tien decided to name the old tree "Bac Dong" to commemorate and remind the next generation of the responsibility toward the forest.

More than 700 years have passed, but “Bac Dong” is still green of life.  Its young leaves grow wide, covering a large part of the forest. There are many parasitic vines on the tree. And according to the officials of the national park, there are many species of birds living on the top of the big tree. Occasionally, a yellow snake nearly 5 m long crawls along a tree branch to hunt.

Afzelia xylocarpa is considered a rare wood species that not only has good quality, is easy to process and is not affected by the weather, but it also has an extremely beautiful wood grain color, bringing high value in furniture production or sculpture. Afzelia xylocarpa is thus classified in the wood group I and listed in the Red Book of Vietnam.

When compared with the surrounding trees, “Bac Dong” is like a proud giant, spreading his arms full of branches, leaves and roots to protect the little creatures around him. Even a small portion of the roots that emerge from the ground is as big as the surrounding “ca te”.

The current trunk of the tree needs 5-6 people to be able to make one full hug. Right next to the old tree is a rope made of large branches. Many tourists come here to choose for themselves a corner and take beautiful photos.

"Bac Dong" is a precious "treasure". In recent years, the tourist center has opened many tours to "Bac Dong" to promote, introduce and raise people’s awareness about forest protection.