The Status of Cecropia (Urticaceae) Introductions in Malesia: Addressing the Confusion
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Blumea 57, 2012: 136–142 www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/blumea RESEARCH ARTICLE http://dx.doi.org/10.3767/000651912X657567 The status of Cecropia (Urticaceae) introductions in Malesia: addressing the confusion B.J. Conn1, J.T. Hadiah2, B.L. Webber3 Key words Abstract As part of the great global movement of plants in the 18th and 19th centuries, many valuable and com- mercial plants were sent from the Neotropics to Europe as seeds or as live specimens. Cecropia (Urticaceae) alien was in cultivation in England in 1789, yet species delimitation was not well-understood until much later, long after Cecropia subsequent introductions to other tropical regions where alien populations are now invasive. The earliest record of Indonesia Cecropia being cultivated in Malesia is based on material of C. peltata thought to have been sent from the Royal invasion history Botanic Gardens Kew to ’s Lands Plantentuin (Buitenzorg) in Jawa, Indonesia, sometime between 1862 and early Jawa 1868. In 1902, C. peltata was first cultivated in the botanical gardens of Singapore and introduced to Peninsular Malaysia Malaysia in 1954. The source of these latter introductions is uncertain. Many researchers have assumed that plant identification C. peltata is the only species of Cecropia introduced in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. We confirm that Singapore C. peltata is naturalised in Singapore and is invasive on the island of Jawa, Indonesia, and in Peninsular Malaysia. Urticaceae However, a second introduced species, C. pachystachya, has also been discovered as invasive in both Jawa and Singapore. There is no evidence for the third previously introduced species, C. palmata, being extant in Malesia. Published on 19 September 2012 INTRODUCTION Berg & Franco-Rosselli (2005), their regional approach to the construction of species identification keys makes it difficult to In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, colonial botanic gar- identify introduced plants of unknown provenance. dens were pioneering and enthusiastic parties in the global Prior to the recent taxonomic account of Cecropia (Berg & movement of a great diversity of plants within and between Franco-Rosselli 2005), this genus had often been poorly continents (Alpern 2008). The Kew Gardens in London (now understood and misrepresented in the literature due to a lack Royal Botanic Gardens Kew) and the Bogor Botanic Gardens of understanding of taxonomic and biological variation in this (Indonesia) were part of this trading network, importing many genus. Sixty-one species of Cecropia are currently recog- plants from Africa and the Neotropics. Many of these early nised, with native ranges from southern Mexico to northern plant introductions into botanical gardens have subsequently Argentina (with two species in the Antilles) and a wide variety become significant invasion problems (for recent references of habitats. It is now becoming clear that within the genus on this issue, see Dawson et al. 2008, Hulme 2011). Cecropia there is also considerable variation in life history traits (Berg peltata L. is listed by the ‘Invasive Species Specialist Group’ & Franco-Rosselli 2005). For example, there is a high degree as one of the 100 worst invasive alien species globally (Lowe of specialisation within Cecropia to certain regeneration and et al. 2004). During the period of early global plant movements establishment niches, as well as distinct types of habitats, such for Cecropia (i.e. up to 1840), only three species were recog- as those only occurring in montane areas or lowland tropical nised – C. peltata L., C. palmata Willd. and C. concolor Willd. rainforest habitats (Berg & Franco-Rosselli 2005, Webber et al. Furthermore, the former two names were applied widely to a 2011). Furthermore, some species, for example those within the range of Cecropia material. ‘C. peltata Group’ (sensu Berg & Franco-Rosselli 2005), are dif- By the time the diversity and circumscription of species in Ce ferentiated into ecotypes, ecospecies or ecological sub species cropia was becoming better understood in the 20th century (e.g. (Berg & Franco-Rosselli 2005). Snethlage 1923), many herbaria and botanic gardens already Depending on the context, such as time since introduction and had all or many of their collections identified using the earlier, abiotic suitability of the environment, and assuming that life broader and/or poorly defined species concepts. Frequently, history traits remain relevant in alien populations, some spe- these misidentifications or these older species concepts were cies and/or ecological variants of Cecropia are more likely to not corrected by reference to the modern species concepts of naturalise successfully or become invasive. For those managing Cecropia. The identification of cultivated material was further these invasive populations, recent literature that treats multiple compounded because the provenance of much of the material species or the entire genus as a single entity (e.g. Csurhes was unclear. Even with the extensive revision of the genus by 2008, Panetta et al. 2011) is likely to be an over-simplified 1 National Herbarium of New South Wales, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney summary, leading to potential problems with any proposed NSW 2000, Australia; control program. corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]. A fundamental goal of invasion ecology (Dawson et al. 2009, 2 Kebun Raya Bogor, Jl. Ir. H. Juanda 13, PO Box 309 Bogor 16122, Indo- nesia; [email protected]. Pyšek & Richardson 2007) is to understand why some species 3 CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Private Bag 5, Wembley, W.A. 6913, Australia, become invasive after introduction to new areas, while others and School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling fail to naturalise. The success of tropical species becoming Highway, Crawley, WA 009, Australia; [email protected]. naturalised has been attributed, in part, to longer residence © 2012 Nationaal Herbarium Nederland You are free to share - to copy, distribute and transmit the work, under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non-commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No derivative works: You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work, which can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights. B.J. Conn et al.: The status of Cecropia 137 time, faster growth rate, fewer seeds per fruit, smaller seed To document Cecropia introduction pathways and source infor- mass and shade tolerance (Dawson et al. 2009). These char- mation on known and possible new populations, three strate- acteristics are found in varying combinations in the diverse gies were utilised. Firstly, herbarium specimens were critically introduction history and life history traits of Cecropia species examined in collections held at Herbarium Bogoriense, Indo- and their introductions worldwide. Moreover, although the fruits nesia (BO), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, United Kingdom (K), of all Cecropia species are one-seeded achenes, the infructes- Forest Research Institute Malaysia (KEP), Kebun Raya Bogor, cence functions as a multi-seeded ‘compound fruit’ consisting of Indonesia (KRB), Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden, The many small seeds, a trait typical of invasive species (Dawson Netherlands (L) and Botanic Gardens Singapore (SING). We et al. 2009). Some Cecropia species can be regarded as being have revised the determinations if required. Selected herbarium more or less classically ‘weedy’ in disturbed habitats, such as C. specimens examined and their determinations are provided. pachystachya Trécul and C. peltata. However, not all Cecropia Secondly, the official records of plant collections cultivated at species or alien populations can be considered of equal risk to KRB were examined in detail. These records include: Kartu naturalise and become invasive. mati – index cards recording the death of cultivated collections Against this historical background of scientific uncertainty and (here referred to as ‘dead cards’); Kartu kebun – index cards confusion and the frequent incorrect identification of Cecropia registering the living cultivated accessions (here referred to species in current literature (e.g. Hulme 2011), we aim to pro- as ‘living cards’), and Buku kebun – botanic garden registra- vide a clarification of the introduction history and current status tion books (here referred to as ‘garden book’). The records of of Cecropia in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Since the plant material received (accessions) for cultivation at KRB are earliest movements of Cecropia out of the Neotropics were into frequently divided into two or more accession identifiers (e.g. European botanic gardens and from there to other parts of the VII.G.81 and VII.G.81a). However, it is important to remember world, we first seek to clarify some of these earliest introduc- that these two identifiers only represent the receipt of one ac- tions in an effort to assist in the identification at the specific or cession. Thirdly, we consulted literature and sought clarification infraspecific level of re-distributed Cecropia material, and to from experts