Harry Wiriadinata

The processes that threaten Indonesian plants

The processes that threaten 240 Indonesian threatened plants were identified and categorized based on a comprehensive review of the published literature and elicitation of information from experts. Intrinsic biological factors and habitat loss are the major causes of plant endangerment in Indonesia (affecting 83 and 82 of species respectively), followed by overexploitation (64) and natural factors (6). The dominant threats vary between major plant groups, with habitat loss being particularly important for palms and trees, and biological factors important for orchids. For all studied plant species three sets of inter-related threatening processes (threat syndromes) were identified that differed among the major plant groups. By identifying and evaluating the processes that threaten plants in Indonesia we provide knowledge to guide their future conservation. © 2011 Fauna & Flora International.

Capsicum pubescens (Solanaceae) in Indonesia: Its History, Taxonomy, and Distribution

Introduction Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav. probably originated in the mid-elevations of Bolivia (Eshbaugh 1975) and has been domesticated since around 6,000 B.C.E. (DeWitt 1999:240–242). The species was originally described by Ruiz and Pavon at the end of the eighteenth century from plants in Peru (Ruiz and Pavon 1798:30–31). Heiser (1987:25) noted that C. pubescens was the most common pepper among the Incas, just as it is today in Cuzco, the former capital of the Incan empire. Morphologically, C. pubescens has distinctive characteristics compared to the other domesticated species, such as purple flowers (sometimes with a white center), black seeds, hairy leaves, and ecological adaptations to tropical highland climates. This species is still primarily cultivated in Andean South America; however, it is also cultivated in the Central American highlands, where it was likely introduced in the twentieth century (McLeod et al. 1982). Cultivation of C. pubescens in the rest of the world remains unknown (Basu and De 2003) or is very limited (Bosland and Votava 2000:19–20). There are very few papers on C. pubescens cultivation, especially outside the Americas, except for introductory trials of C. pubescens as a new cash crop in Nagano, Japan (Matsushima et al. 2010). In Southeast and East Asia, C. annuum L. and C. frutescens L., and occasionally C. chinense Jacq., are used as condiments, vegetables, and medicines; however, C. pubescens has not been reported outside of Indonesia. Djarwaningsih (1983) reported on C. pubescens from Indonesia, but this report was written in Indonesian and therefore very few researchers have cited it. Moreover, it contained very little information on the distribution and cultivation of C. pubescens because of its focus on the taxonomy and classification of the genus Capsicum in Indonesia. Therefore, in the present study, literature, specimen, field, and market surveys of C. pubescens were conducted to investigate its introduction into Indonesia and to reveal its present distribution and cultivation.

A REVISION OF THE GENUS SPATHOLOBUS (LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE)

In the S. E. Asiatic genus Spatholobus 28 species are recognized, 6 of which are never described before: S. albus S. auricomus, S. auritus, S. hirsutus, S. multiflorus and S. viridis. One variety (S. ferrugineus var. acutus) is also newly described. A key and full descriptions with plates and maps to illustrate the distribution are given.