Nongnooch Garden Pattaya Collaborates with Chinese Government Representatives to Research Coco de Mer and the World’s Rarest Cycad Species
Today, Mr. Kampon Tansacha, President of Nongnooch Garden Pattaya, welcomed Mr. Zhang Shou Zhou and Dr. Cheng Xin, experts from a Chinese government agency specializing in plant genetic research under the Ten Thousand Plant Genome Project. This project has been allocated a budget of up to 1 million US dollars and focuses on the study of two plant species: Coco de Mer and cycads, with an estimated research duration of five years.
As part of their selection process, the People’s Republic of China sent a team of 12 experts to Nongnooch Garden Pattaya to collect and request DNA samples from these plants. This choice was made because Nongnooch Garden Pattaya houses the largest collection of cycads in the world. Additionally, while the Coco de Mer is an extremely rare species, the garden has the second-largest collection globally, following only its native habitat in Seychelles, located in the Indian Ocean.
To demonstrate mutual cooperation and friendship, Mr. Kampon invited Mr. Zhang Shou Zhou and Dr. Cheng Xin to plant a Coco de Mer tree in the World Palm Garden and a Zamia integrifolia cycad in the Botanic Forest Reserve at Khao Ban Dai Krit. This reserve is a project initiated by Nongnooch Garden Pattaya, officially approved by the Royal Forest Department, with the goal of establishing a Botanic Forest Reserve for Thailand. The project aims to gather and cultivate valuable and rare tree species from around the world. All funding, operational costs, and maintenance of these trees are fully managed and overseen by Nongnooch Garden Pattaya.
