VietNamNet Bridge – Scientists have warned that “Co kim tuyen” as called by local people, or Anoechilus roxburglihayata, a kind of precious herb, may get exhausted in Vietnam, if drastic measures are not taken to prevent local people from picking immoderately.

Photo: Ha Tinh Newspaper

In the past, co kim tuyen, for Huong Khe people, was just a kind of wild grass. However, it now costs a fortune. As co kim tuyen has been proved as containing the special features allowing to treat some serious diseases, it has been hunted everywhere.

Merchants now pay VND1 million just to get one kilo of fresh kim tuyen, the grass people threw away in the past. The merchants said they would sell the herb to Japanese. It is estimated that one kilo of dry kim tuyen can be sold for VND100 million.

Co kim tuyen, or Anoechilus roxburglihayata, belonging to Orchidaceae family, mostly grows on wet land, scattered in the deep forests.

The leaves are thick but as smooth as velvet, and they glitter, therefore, local people call them “kim tuyen.”

Kim tuyen only grows on the good and porous soil, where there is no direct light of the sun. They usually gather on large grounds. Kim tuyen can be found only in the deep forest, on high areas. It very rarely can be seen on the forest edge area.

In Ha Tinh, kim tuyen is divided into two groups, kim tuyen thiec (tin) and kim tuyen nhung (velvet). The later has bigger and smoother leaves. However, both of them have the same value.

Medical documents say kim tuyen is a kind of very precious and valuable medicine herb, which can help regenerate cells, especially liver cells. Chinese have been using kim tuyen in the remedy for cancer disease treatment.

Tran Ngoc Lam, who is called “forester,” who lives alone on Hoang Lien Son Mountain, said he has cured a lot of people who were infected with cancer with the medicine made of the herbs.

As kim tuyen has unexpected become valuable, Huong Khe people have been going to the forest to find kim tuyen for sale. Vo Van Trinh in Phuc Trach commune, said he began picking kim tuyen for sale earlier this year, but he has got big money with the new job.

Trinh said he is a member of a group of five members, who go to the forest every day to look for kim tuyen as their main source of income.

On lucky days, Trinh and the other members can pick 5 kilos of kim tuyen, for which they can earn VND1 million.

“You need to be observant when looking for kim tuyen, because the plants are small and live in the dark,” he said.

“If one of us finds kim tuyen, we will focus on looking for it in a land plot with the radius of 50 meters, because kim tuyen usually grow together on a large ground,” he explained.

There are more and more people, like Trinh and his friends, going to the forest to look for kim tuyen. Therefore, kim tuyen is getting exhausted.

The Vietnam General Directorate of Forestry has released a decision on prohibiting to exploit kim tuyen. However, local authorities remain powerless amid the “kim tuyen rush.”

Kim Chi