On the Taxonomic Importance of Relocating Poorly Collected Species
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96 AROIDEANA, Vol. 35 Lost Aroids: On the taxonomic importance of relocating poorly collected species Peter C. Boyce Pusat Pengajian Sains Kajihayat [School of Biological Sciences] Universiti Sains Malaysia 11800 USM Pulau Pinang, Malaysia [email protected] Wong Sin Yeng Department of Plant Science & Environmental Ecology Faculty of Resource Science & Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia [email protected] ABSTRACT Aroids, perhaps by reason of their often originating from almost inaccessible tropi- Aridarum montanum Ridl. and Piptos- cal forests, are host to a remarkable number patha insignis N.E.Br. (Araceae: Schisma- of such ‘lost’ species. Remarkable, too, is toglottideae), aroids originating from Bor- that quite some number of long-lost species neo that are each known from a single has been re-found over the past 20 years. collection, are discussed and illustrated. Of particular note [with the period ‘‘lost’’ in The history of their discovery is reviewed, together with what is known or speculated years] are: Gearum brasiliense N.E.Br. of their ecology. The biological significance [150 years] (Mayo et al., 1994), Mangonia of the collection locality of A. montanum is tweediana Schott [142 years] (Bogner & highlighted. The species’ individual impor- Marchesi, 2000), Zomicarpella maculata tance to modern systematics is highlighted. N.E.Br. [116 years] (Bogner, 2007, 2009), and Ulearum sagittatum Engl. [90 years] (Boyce, 1995; Bogner, 1997). KEY WORDS However, many aroid species remain Araceae, Aridarum, Piptospatha, Bor- elusive. Two of these, from Borneo, are the neo, Malaysia, Sarawak, Santubong. subject of this short piece. INTRODUCTION Aridarum montanum Ridl. –Figs.2and3 ‘Lost’ plant species – species tantalizingly In 1909 Cecil Joslin Brooks, a metallur- only known from a single herbarium col- gical chemist and competent amateur lection, or frustratingly from just an old botanist in the employ of the gold-mining illustration, hold an abiding fascination for division of the Borneo Co. Ltd in Sarawak, plant enthusiasts, whether professional bot- collected a diminutive aroid at an unspec- anists or keen hobbyists. The ranks of these ified locality on Gunung (Mt) Santubong, a ‘still lost’ plant species are perhaps no better large sandstone mountain situated on a exemplified than by Archivea kewensis peninsula jutting into the South China Sea Christenson & Jenny (Fig. 1), a Brazilian approximately 35 km north of Kuching, the species (indeed, a genus) known from a state capital of Sarawak. Brooks’ solitary single 19th century watercolour deposited in pressed specimen was subsequently sent to the Herbarium & Archives of Kew Gardens, the British Museum (now the Natural from whence the genus and species epithets History Museum, London), where it was are derived (Christenson & Jenny, 1996). worked up by Henry Nicholas Ridley, with Aroideana arod-35-00-13.3d 3/4/12 11:17:39 96.