Hose, G.F. A catalogue of the ferns of Borneo and some of the adjacent islands which have been recorded up to the present time
C. Hose, Bishop of Sarawak and prominent naturalist of the White Rajah period, published this comprehensive taxonomic catalogue in 1899, documenting 430 species and varieties of ferns recorded from Borneo, the Sulu Archipelago, the Natunas, and adjacent islands. The work synthesises collections made primarily in Sarawak and British North Borneo—territories that together comprised only about one-third of the island—and argues that the unexplored Dutch-held regions likely harbour a substantial number of additional species.
Summary
Hose’s catalogue is organised according to the system of Hooker and Baker’s Synopsis Filicum (2nd ed., 1874), with Roman numerals denoting genera and Arabic numerals species, new taxa marked by an asterisk following the nearest allied species. The work draws on the field collections of Signor Beccari, Mr. F. C. Burbidge, Mr. Charles Hose, Dr. G. D. Haviland, and the author himself, spanning roughly the period from the 1840s (Thomas Lobb’s collections for the Messrs. Veitch) through to 1898. Each entry provides the locality, elevation where known, collector, and a distribution note, with the author frequently offering taxonomic opinions that diverge from those of Baker, Cesati, or Beddome—such as his conviction that Lindsaya scandens and L. trapeziformis are conspecific, or that Meniscium cuspidatum and Polypodium urophyllum are distinct despite their dried-herbarium resemblance (pp. 33–84).
The catalogue is not merely a list but a working document of active taxonomy. Hose describes several unnamed or provisionally named species in detail, including a Gleichenia from Mt. Kinabalu at 8,000 ft. that he considers distinct from G. arachnoides, and a Diplazium from Mt. Matang which he names provisionally A. (Dipl.) Matangense, distinguishing it from A. maximum on the basis of its flaccid herbaceous habit and elliptical rather than deltoid frond outline (pp. 33, 57–58). He also corrects errors in the literature, noting that Dr. Christ’s attribution of Polypodium (Dry.) Heracleum to Borneo based on his specimens was a mistake, as they were in fact from Perak (p. 74).
A recurring theme is the inadequacy of existing reference works. Hose laments that the Synopsis Filicum has been long out of print and that Baker’s supplements are “hardly more than lists,” making it difficult for field naturalists in the region to identify novelties without access to an immense number of publications (p. 32). The catalogue thus serves both as a regional flora and as an implicit plea for a revised general reference.
Key Findings
- The catalogue records 430 species and varieties of ferns from Borneo and adjacent islands, of which 114 were first found in Borneo and 107 have no other known habitat, making them putative endemics (p. 31).
- Collections are concentrated in Sarawak and British North Borneo, which together occupy only about one-third of the island; the remainder (except the small Sultanate of Brunei) was under Dutch administration, and Hose anticipates that Dutch Borneo will yield further novelties (p. 31).
- The highest recorded elevation for a fern in Borneo at this time is 10,500 ft. on Mt. Kinabalu, where Dr. G. D. Haviland collected Cyathea Havilandi, Nephrodium (Lastrea) gymnopodum, Polypodium (Grammitis) Havilandi, and Vittaria sulcata (pp. 35, 61, 67, 79).
- Matonia sarmentosa Baker, found by Mr. Charles Hose hanging from the roof of a limestone cave at Niah in the Baram Residency, was described by Baker as “the most interesting novelty that has been found in the period under review” (p. 36).
- Hemionitis Hosei Baker, from Mt. Matang, is known from a single collection by the author and is the only representative of its genus in this part of the world; the nearest congener, H. lanceolata, is known only from New Guinea (p. 80).
- Asplenium (Dipl.) esculentum Presl, the Dyak “Paku amai,” is noted as a common food plant in Sarawak, providing a rare ethnobotanical observation within the taxonomic framework (p. 59).
Conclusion
Hose’s definitive takeaway is that Borneo’s fern flora is far from exhaustively known, and that the concentration of new species discovered within a comparatively small area—chiefly Sarawak and British North Borneo—strongly suggests that the unexplored Dutch territories hold a “rich harvest” for future collectors. The catalogue stands as both a snapshot of late-Victorian pteridological knowledge and a practical tool for field identification in a region where the standard reference works were inaccessible.
Context
- The author served as Bishop of Sarawak and was a leading figure in the colony’s scientific community; his collections and those of his son Charles Hose form the backbone of the Baram district records. The work reflects the administrative and scientific infrastructure of the White Rajah period, with the Sarawak Museum serving as the local depository for specimens.
- The primary sources are the author’s own herbarium and the Sarawak Museum collections, supplemented by references to Beccari’s Filici Borneo (Cesati), Baker’s Ferns discovered or described since 1874, and Dr. Christ’s Die Farnflora von Celebes. The study’s historiographical contribution lies in establishing the first comprehensive regional fern checklist for Borneo and in documenting the taxonomic debates of the period between British and Italian pteridologists.