On a botanical exploration in October 1999 in remote karst limestone mountains NW of Quan Ba close to the Chinese border in the northern Vietnamese province of Ha Giang an unidentified conifer was found growing on the summit ridge of one of these mountains. Subsequently, after collection of more material early in 2001, this conifer was identified and described as a new genus and species in the family Cupressaceae (for a detailed description, see the reference given below). Its taxonomic classification has been placed close to a North American species (heretofore doubtfully assigned to either Chamaecyparis or Cupressus) based on detailed analyses of morphological data of all representative genera in the family.