PRELIMINARY REVISION OF SCHEFFLERA FORST. & FORST. (ARALIACEAE) IN SARAWAK Siti Noor Aishah Binti Mohd Noor Bachelor of Science with Honours (Plant Resource Science and Management) 2013 PRELIMINARY REVISION OF SCHEFFLERA FORST. & FORST. (ARALIACEAE) IN SARAWAK Siti Noor Aishah Binti Mohd Noor (28268) A report is submitted to partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science with Honours (Plant Resource Science and Management) Plant Resource Science and Management Programme Department of Plant Science and Environmental Ecology Faculty of Resource Science and Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2013 Name of candidate : Siti Noor Aishah binti Mohd Noor Title : Preliminary revision of Schefflera Forst. & Forst. (Araliaceae) in Sarawak _____________________________ (Dr. Aida Shafreena binti Ahmad Puad) Supervisor ______________________________ (Dr. Rebicca Edward) Coordinator Plant Resource Science and Management Programme Department of Plant Science and Environmental Ecology Faculty of Resource Science and Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, praise to Allah S.W.T for giving me the strength for completing this study despite all the difficulties faced. Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude towards my supervisor, Dr. Aida Shafreena binti Ahmad Puad for all the guidance, advices and support throughout the process of completing this thesis. I also would like to give my appreciation to Professor Dr. Cheksum @ Supiah binti Tawan for sharing her valuable information and thoughts. I would like to thank the staffs of Sarawak Forest Department for helping me during my visit to herbarium by preparing the equipment for me to use in order to examine the specimens. Not to forget, my best friend, Siti Aliyah binti Embok Patak who gives me the moral support during my ups and downs. Above and beyond, I would like to give a special thanks to the angel of my heart, Puan Rohaizah binti Muhamad for all the encouragement and support given. iii DECLARATION This Final Year Project 2013 is based on my original work except for quotation and citation which have been acknowledged. I also declared that it has not been submitted previously or currently to any other degree at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak or any other institution. __________________________________ Siti Noor Aishah binti Mohd Noor Plant Resource Science and Management Department of Plant Science and Environmental Ecology Faculty of Resource Science and Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak iv TABLE OF CONTENT TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………………….i APPROVAL ………………………………………………………………….….ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……………………………………………………...iii DECLARATION ………………………………………………………….…….iv TABLE OF CONTENT ……………………………………….............................v LIST OF ABBREVIATION ……………………………….……….……....…..vii LIST OF TABLES .…………………………………………………….………viii LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………….…..ix LIST OF APPENDIX ……………………………………………….….………..x ABSTRACT ………………..................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ……………………………………….…....…2 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Taxonomy, morphology and anatomy of the Schefflera ………….……5 2.2 Discoveries of Schefflera species in Sarawak ………………………….6 2.3 Phylogenetics of Schefflera …………………………………………….7 2.4 Geographical distribution and ecology of Schefflera …………………..8 2.5 Economic potential and uses of Schefflera ……………………....……..9 CHAPTER 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS …………………….…………11 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 4.1 Schefflera species in Sarawak ……………………………………........13 4.2 Distribution of Schefflera ……………………………………....……...16 4.3 Taxonomic key of Schefflera species in Sarawak and species v descriptions 4.3.1 Preliminary taxonomic key of Schefflera species in Sarawak ……………………………………………....…...…18 4.3.2 Description of Schefflera species in Sarawak ……………….20 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION 5.1 Published and unpublished name ……………………………………...33 5.2 Distribution of Schefflera in Sarawak …………………………………34 5.3 Limitations of the current study ……………………………………….36 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ……….……....38 References ……………………………………………………………………...39 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………….41 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SAR Sarawak Herbarium cm centimetre mm millimetres diam. diameter c. circa (about) vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1 Schefflera species in Borneo (Frodin & Govaerts, 2003). 7 Table 2 Schefflera species studied showing published and unpublished 14 names. viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1 (a) Schefflera crenata, (b) Schefflera tetrandra, (c) 3 Schefflera actinophylla and (d) Schefflera hexaphylla. Figure 2 Main axis (c) of the inflorescence of S. mjoebergii 12 showing limitation zone (a) and branching zone (b). Figure 3 Number of specimens observed for each species. 15 Figure 4 Altitudinal distribution of Schefflera species in Sarawak. 17 Figure 5 Schefflera beccariana Harms. 21 Figure 6 Schefflera borneensis Merr. 22 Figure 7 Schefflera kuchingensis Merr. 24 Figure 8 Schefflera lasiocalyx Ridl. 25 Figure 9 Schefflera laxiflora Ridl. 27 Figure 10 Schefflera mjoebergii Merr. 29 Figure 11 Schefflera remotiserrata Merr. 30 Figure 12 Schefflera tetandra Merr. 32 ix LIST OF APPENDIX Appendix Page Appendix A Information on the specimen observed 41 x Preliminary Revision of Schefflera Forst. & Forst. (Araliaceae) in Sarawak Siti Noor Aishah binti Mohd Noor Plant Resource Science and Management Programme Department of Plant Science and Environmental Ecology Faculty of Resource Science and Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak ABSTRACT Preliminary revision of Schefflera in Sarawak was done in Sarawak Herbarium (SAR) of Sarawak Forest Department. All the specimens studied were from dried specimens. There are 357 specimens that have been observed. From the specimens observed, there are 23 Schefflera species found in Sarawak and an additional of 19 unpublished names. This gives a total of 42 Schefflera species of that can be found in Sarawak. A preliminary taxonomic key has been constructed for selected species. Species descriptions of selected species have been carried out. The species selected are S. beccariana, S. borneensis, S. kuchingensis, S. lasiocalyx, S. laxiflora, S. mjoebergii, S. remotiserrata and S. tetandra. From this study, it shows that Schefflera species can be found in wide geographical and elevational distribution. Key words: Schefflera, taxonomy, description, distribution, Sarawak. ABSTRAK Kajian awal Schefflera di Sarawak telah dilakukan di Herbarium Sarawak (SAR) di Jabatan Hutan Sarawak. Semua spesimen yang dikaji ialah dari spesimen kering. Terdapat 357 spesimen yang telah dikaji. Daripada spesimen yang dikaji, terdapat 23 spesis Schefflera ditemui di Sarawak dan sebanyak 19 nama tambahan yang tidak diterbitkan. Ini memberikan sejumlah 42 spesis Schefflera yang boleh didapati di Sarawak. Kunci taksonomi awal telah dibina untuk spesis terpilih. Penerangan spesies bagi spesis yang terpilih juga telah dibuat. Spesies yang dipilih ialah S. beccariana, S. borneensis, S. kuchingensis, S. lasiocalyx, S. laxiflora, S. mjoebergii, S. remotiserrata dan S. tetandra. Dari kajian ini, ia menunjukkan bahawa spesis Schefflera boleh didapati dalam taburan geogafi dan ketinggian yang luas. Kata kunci: Schefflera, taksonomi, penerangan, taburan, Sarawak. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Sarawak, the largest state in Malaysia which is situated in Borneo Island covers nearly 125,000 square kilometres in the Borneo land mass. Sarawak is also a home to the amazing range of tropical biodiversity (Sarawak Tourism Board, 2011). There are about 8000 species of vascular plant flora, 2000 species of trees, 1000 species of orchids, 757 species of ferns and 260 species of palms (Forest Department of Sarawak, 2007). Despite the approximate numbers of plant species recorded for Sarawak, there are still many more that are not discovered and that includes Schefflera species which is still understudy and poorly understood. According to Frodin and Govaerts (2003), Schefflera is the largest genus in the family Araliaceae (the ginseng family) with more than 582 species worldwide. Schefflera can be found mainly in the tropical regions and a high number of this genus can be found especially in mountainous areas of South America and Southeast Asia (Frodin & Govaerts, 2003). Schefflera can be found as epiphytic shrublets, shrubs, small or medium trees and climbers (Frodin & Govaerts, 2003) (Figure 1). Generally, this genus can be distinguished by several characteristics. The first one is that it has palmately compound leaves and at the base of the petiole, the stipules are fuse and elongated into an attachment of greater or lesser length. Second, the inflorescence is arranged in panicles and the numbers of branches are varies along which the flowers are organised in many or few numerous, 2 normally stalked umbellules, capitula, racemules or spicules. The third one is, the prickles are absent on the vegetative parts. Finally, the flowers lack an articulation beneath the receptacle. (a) (b) (c) (d) Figure 1 (a) Schefflera crenata, (b) Schefflera tetrandra, (c) Schefflera actinophylla and (d) Schefflera hexaphylla. There are several species that are distributed in Sarawak, Sabah and both Sabah and Sarawak. The species that are native to Borneo are S. avenis (Miq.) Harms, S. borneensis Merr., S. burkillii Merr., S. cephalotes (C. B. Clarke) Harms, S. filipes Merr., S. foetida 3 Merr., S. gracilis (Miq.) R. Vig., S. havilandii Merr., S. lasiocalyx Ridl., S. petiolosa (Miq.) Harms., S. polita (Miq.)