This is the only book ever written about the orchids of Sulawesi. More than one century has passed since J.J. Smith published Die Orchideen von Ambon, and in that time books have been written about orchids in Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea... in fact, all the major territories and islands except Sulawesi. This is quite an astonishing omission, because Sulawesi lies right at the heart of the region. It is the cross-roads of S.E. Asia, in a botanic and zoological sense. It is the place where the plants (and animals) from three totally different regions meet, mingle and interact. Sulawesi is unique, and so are many of its orchids.
Bulbophyllum, with approximately 1900-2000 species, is the largest orchid genus in the world. Although it can be found in tropical America and Africa, the majority of the species occur in S.E. Asia, and it is only here that the genus shows the full range of its diversity.
Bulbophyllum of Sulawesi is a scientific revision of the 123 species and 4 subspecies of Bulbophyllum that are found in Sulawesi. It contains descriptions of all 127 taxa, and illustrates the majority of them with colour photographs, line drawings, or both. Bulbophyllum of Sulawesi is organised into sections according to the latest developments in orchid taxonomy; 24 Bulbophyllum sections are represented in Sulawesi. Keys to the sections and species are provided. There is a chapter on the biogeography of Sulawesi (which helps explain why the island is so unique) and chapters dealing with the island's forests and orchid habitats.
Unlike many orchid books which are dependent on recycling old material, Bulbophyllum of Sulawesi is the product of original research and fieldwork. This is how 60 of the species in Bulbophyllum of Sulawesi (an astonishingly high 47% of the total) came to be discovered during the course of this investigation.
- Introduction 1
- Bulbophyllum section 1: Pelma 29
- Bulbophyllum section 2: Intervallatae 33
- Bulbophyllum section 3: Lepidorhiza 37
- Bulbophyllum section 4: Cirrhopetalum 55
- Bulbophyllum section 5: Altisceptrum 59
- Bulbophyllum section 6: Phreatiopsis 61
- Bulbophyllum section 7: Stachysanthes 63
- Bulbophyllum section 8: Brachystachyae 84
- Bulbophyllum section 9: Hirtula 107
- Bulbophyllum section 10: Pseudopelma 109
- Bulbophyllum section 11: Desmosanthes 112
- Bulbophyllum section 12: Pahudia 117
- Bulbophyllum section 13: Epicrianthes 130
- Bulbophyllum section 14: Polymeres 139
- Bulbophyllum section 15: Codonosiphon 165
- Bulbophyllum section 16: Macrocaulia 168
- Bulbophyllum section 17: Hoplandra 178
- Bulbophyllum section 18: Monanthaparva 180
- Bulbophyllum section 19: Minutissima 193
- Bulbophyllum section 20: Pedilochilus 199
- Bulbophyllum section 21: Hyalosema 200
- Bulbophyllum section 22: Sestochilos 204
- Bulbophyllum section 23: Monanthes 209
- Bulbophyllum section 24: Oxysepala 222
- Orchid Habitats in Sulawesi 225
- Acknowledgements 233
- References 234
- General Index 240
- Index of Scientific Names 242