N Vietnam and China Jan/Feb-10

[arisaema]

There's been a lot of threads about Vietnam alredy, so I'll do my best not to duplicate them. This was very much an impulse trip, had originally planned on going to a beach in Cambodia, but ended up in a snowy China carrying four pairs of shorts and only one pair of pants in my backpack

Identifications of the plants would be much appreciated!

First three from Hanoi;

Spathoglottis plicata?
unknown tree
silk flowers

Sapa;

mountains
my lovely US$5/night hotel room
weedy Solanum sp.
rice paddies
"Flower", my Black Hmong guide
the "indigo plant" used for colouring clothing, Strobilanthes penstemonoides, or possibly another S. sp.
Flower's home

[arisaema]

More from Sapa and the surrounding area;

Flower's daughter
a local market (Bac Ha?)
probably not CITES-certified...

Hoang Lien Son National Park (at the base of Fansipan), 2000-2300m altitude;

Smilax sp.
Arisaema sp.
the view
wonderfully fragrant, unknown shrub, Luculia sp.?
shrubby Senecio sp?
Primula petelotii
...and it's habitat on shady river banks

[arisaema]

More from Hoang Lien Son National Park:

Viola sp. growing in wet sand
Polygala karensium?
Schefflera sp.
epiphytic orchids grew absolutely everywhere, but this was still the dry season

...and something for Maggi

More tomorrow if there's interest.

[Mick McLoughlin]

Nice pictures arisaema. It looks like you were in the area the same time as me and Mandy.
Was there much difference over the border in China as we went further south instead.

Mick

[WimB]

Nice pics Bjørnar,

more please.

The Vietnamese Indigo plant is probably Strobilanthes penstemonoides or at least a plant from the Strobilanthes genus.

[arisaema]

Mick;

It was very different, Hekou is much more affluent than Lao Cai, hardly anyone speaks English, and I didn't see a single tourist until arriving in Kunming.

Wim;

Thanks for the id, I've edited it above