Talk: Wild Orchid of Sarawak: A decade of study and way to go forward

Dear members and friends,

This time we have a colourful   Talk on Wild Orchids of Sarawak

Date:          Wednesday 30 October 2019

Time:          7.30-9.30 PM ( Please be on time)

Venue :     Islamic Information Centre (Lower Baruk)

                  Jalan Ong Tiang Swee (behind Swinburne University)

Entrance:   Free of charge but donations are always welcome.

Speaker:     Ling Chea Yiing (Ms)

Please register before 30 October to secure your place by email mnskuching@gmail.com.

Wild Orchids of Sarawak: A decade of study and way to go forward

Orchidaceae is one of the largest families of flowering plants, estimated at over  25,000 species  in the world today.   In Borneo presently, it is estimated at over 2,500 species with slightly over 1,000 species occurring  in Sarawak. It is one of the most studied  group of plants by many botanists and taxonomists during mid-18^th until  20^thcentury. 

The first enumeration on orchids from Sarawak listed only 160 species by Henry Ridley in 1860. In 1994, a checklist of the orchids in Borneo was reported at 676 species from Sarawak, and and  additional 343 species reported by Beamanet al., bringing the  total of species to 1019. Despite  being   one of the most well-studied groups, interesting species continue to be discovered from various botanical exploration conducted by Sarawak Forestry Corporation from 2009 until 2019. These include seven species that are new records for Borneo and eight species that are new records for Sarawak. Three newly described species are namely,  Bulbophyllum upupops J.J.Vermeulen & Lamb., Thrixspermum lingiaeP.O'Byrne & Gokusingand Dendrobium nangajuenseC.Y.Ling & P.O'Byrne.

The continuous discovery of orchids is possible owing to the ex-situ conservation effort implemented by Sarawak Forestry Corporation. A Wild Orchid Garden located at Semenggoh Nature Reserve holds a total of over 3,700 collections since its establishment in 1982. The collections were made from various sites through different projects. These include the endangered habitats, as well as totally protected areas. The major challenges in study and conservation of orchids in Sarawak are the accessibility to less botanised areas, continuous threats to their habitats, inaccessibility of type specimens and lack of local experts. In order to conserve the wild orchids perpetually, micro-propagation of orchids is important to expand the collection in the garden. Along-term collaboration with orchids experts is important to enhance our knowledge of orchids richness in Sarawak. Conservation status assessment and application of Species Distribution Modelling are the  way to go forward for future in conservation of orchids in Sarawak.  

About the author:

Ling Chea Yiing has working with Sarawak Forestry Corporation since 2006.  Her first assignment as an intern was to enumerate tree species at Semenggoh Arboretum at Semenggoh Nature Reserve. She developa her interest in orchids when she moved from Forest Research Centre to Botanical Research Centre in 2009. She spends her free time roaming the Wild Orchid Garden in the Centre, to search for any flowering orchids, photographing the flowering plants and collect samples for future study.

From 2012 onwards, she was in-charge of the Wild Orchid Garden in the Centre. Orchid is one of the priority species for rescue or collection, as it is a Protected Plant under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998. Many species of orchids were discovered during her 10-years surveys all over Sarawak. She has  authored  12 research papers/posters/journal about orchids and more are being published.

Regards,

Cynthia Lobato