45 years of living and dying with the forest of the man whose name is given to a tree species

Bloodshed for the green forest

Ru Linh forest, located on the border between Hien Thanh and Vinh Hoa communes, Vinh Linh district (Quang Tri), is considered a green lung with a rich ecosystem.

The forest is home to 73 species of birds, 12 species of animals and many precious trees such as green lim, lau gu, wild chestnut, agarwood, ivy, and some unidentified species.

Ru Linh forest is located between Hien Thanh and Vinh Hoa communes, Vinh Linh district, Quang Tri province (Photo: Nhat Anh) .

For Ru Linh to exist and develop as it is today, it is impossible not to mention the efforts of local people and forest rangers. Among them, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trong (born in 1955, residing in Hoa Binh village, Hien Thanh commune) - who has spent 45 years of his life protecting the forest - considers Ru Linh as his "second home".

Mr. Trong said that the name "Ru Linh" comes from the local language. "Ru" means forest, and "Linh" is a type of tree that grows densely in this area.

"The job of forest protection is very hard and dangerous. It's much better now, but in the past, illegal loggers were very reckless. Even with a forest ranger force, they were not strong enough to stop those who destroyed the forest and hunted wild animals. I was once beaten to death when I tried to stop a group of people from destroying the forest," Mr. Trong said.

Mr. Trong has more than 45 years of experience protecting Ru Linh forest (Photo: Nhat Anh).

Locals love Mr. Trong a lot but hate him a lot too, especially those who often "visit" the forest to cut down trees and steal wood. For decades, he has been a "thorn in the side" of illegal loggers. Many times, they blocked Mr. Trong's road, threatened to beat him, threw his motorbike down a cliff, threw rocks at his house, and even destroyed dozens of his family's rubber trees.

Despite the hardships and the small allowance, Mr. Trong has worked diligently and persistently for decades to preserve each tree and protect wild animals from the risk of destruction. Thanks to people like Mr. Trong, the Ru Linh forest remains green, contributing to protecting the environment and maintaining the ecosystem for future generations.

"When I saw the forest trees being cut down, I felt very heartbroken. I was determined to protect the forest, so I was hated, especially by those who often went to Ru Linh to steal wood. Many times I fell and was beaten, but I accepted to shed blood in exchange for the green color of Ru Linh, for future generations," Mr. Trong shared.

In recent years, due to health reasons, he has not participated in the forest protection force, but Mr. Trong still regularly inspects and supports scientists and students to learn and research the Ru Linh forest ecosystem. In particular, he has supported botanists to find a new plant species in Ru Linh forest.

Recently, Mr. Trong was surprised to receive news that botanists from the Institute of Life Sciences, the Central Institute of Scientific Research and the Kagoshima University Museum (Japan) had named a new plant species after him.

"I didn't think that a forest ranger like me could be honored in this way. It's a great pride," Mr. Trong shared.

The newly discovered and announced plant species is named after Mr. Trong (Photo: Nhat Anh).

According to Dr. Le Tuan Anh (Central Institute for Scientific Research), the new plant species belongs to the genus Lasianthus (Xú hương), collected in the forests of Quang Tri and Quang Binh, in which Ru Linh was the first place to discover and collect specimens. This species is named Lasianthus trongii to honor the "forest keeper" Nguyen Dinh Trong.

"Uncle Trong is not a forest ranger but has protected Ru Linh forest for 45 years. Naming a tree species after him is a way to recognize his contributions to this forest," Dr. Le Tuan Anh emphasized.

Today, Ru Linh has become an important protective forest, more strictly managed with an area of ​​101 hectares. Thanks to the persistent protection of people like Mr. Trong, this forest still retains its pristine beauty and becomes a precious heritage for future generations.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Chairman of Vinh Linh District People's Committee, said that Ru Linh is a long-standing forest, closely associated with the lives of people in Hien Thanh and Vinh Hoa communes, and is the only primeval forest in the Quang Tri plain.

According to Mr. Thanh, not only the people but also the local government want Ru Linh to always be preserved and protected in its original state. The locality also hopes that Ru Linh primeval forest will be an attractive eco-tourism destination, attracting visitors.

According to the description of botanists, Lasianthus trongii is a shrub, 1-3m high, with opposite leaves, elliptical or lanceolate leaf blades, hairless leaf surface, pointed leaf tail, nearly round leaf base, entire margin, 6-8 pairs of secondary veins, small, triangular stipules.

The inflorescence of the new plant species is cymose with 7 small, white flowers, the calyx is bell-shaped to truncated cone-shaped, hairless, with 4 triangular lobes. The drupe is ovoid to spherical, smooth, orange-red when ripe, very eye-catching, easily distinguishing this species in nature.

Although this species is found in both Quang Binh and Quang Tri, the number of individuals is very small, so scientists propose to classify the species as endangered.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/45-nam-song-chet-voi-rung-cua-nguoi-duoc-lay-ten-dat-cho-mot-loai-cay-20250326110806591.htm