Scitamineae of Borneo
H. N. Ridley, Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, published this preliminary floristic treatment of the Scitamineae (the former order encompassing Zingiberaceae, Marantaceae, Musaceae, Lowiaceae, and Costaceae) of Borneo in 1906. Writing from a position of direct field experience in Sarawak and British North Borneo, Ridley argues that the Bornean representative of this order remains vastly under-collected and under-described, and that the flora, while structurally similar to that of the Malay Peninsula, contains a significant element of endemism and close but distinct allies of peninsular species.
Summary
Ridley’s paper is explicitly framed as a “mere preliminary” contribution, acknowledging that a very large number of Bornean Scitamineae are either uncollected or collected but undescribed. He draws on the herbarium collections of Beccari, Korthals, Haviland, and J. Hewitt (curator of the Sarawak Museum), supplemented by his own extensive field work around Kuching, Matang, Bau, and Bidi in Sarawak, as well as sites in British North Borneo. A recurring problem he identifies is the difficulty of matching Schumann’s descriptions in the Pflanzenreich—based on Beccari’s and Korthals’ material—with living plants collected on the same ground, suggesting that some of Schumann’s species concepts may be unreliable or insufficiently characterised.
The biogeographical observations are of particular interest. Ridley notes that the genera of Bornean Scitamineae are “very much the same” as those of the Malay Peninsula, yet comparatively few species are actually shared; instead, closely allied forms predominate. He highlights an inversion in Globba flower colour: yellow-flowered species are common in the Peninsula but scanty in Borneo, where white-flowered forms dominate. Two genera, Haplochorema and Burbidgea, are identified as peculiar to Borneo, while Geostachys, Conamomum, and Hedychium are entirely absent. The Marantaceae are singled out as especially in need of further work, partly because their fugacious flowers require careful separate drying to be adequately preserved for description.
The paper describes fifteen new species across the genera Globba, Gastrochilus, Amomum, Hornstedtia, Plagiostachys, Alpinia, and Phrynium, most of them from Sarawak. Several are named after collectors or localities (e.g., A. Hewittii, H. Hewittii), and Ridley provides brief ethnobotanical notes where available, such as the Dyak use of Curcuma aromatica as soap and medicine, and the local name “Bungah Jungkal” for Hornstedtia reticulata, whose inner stem is eaten.
Key Findings
- Fifteen new species are described, including Globba propinqua, G. tricolor, G. pumila, Gastrochilus pulchella, Amomum flavidulum, A. sylvestre, A. cerasinum, A. Hewittii, Hornstedtia brachychilus, H. spathulata, H. Hewittii, Plagiostachys borneensis, Alpinia cornu-cervi, A. reticosa, and Phrynium fissifolia (pp. 230–246).
- Haplochorema and Burbidgea are identified as genera peculiar to Borneo, while Geostachys, Conamomum, and Hedychium are absent from the island (p. 229).
- Hornstedtia reticulata (syn. H. Havilandi, Schumann) is recorded as “very common” at Matang, Bau, and Bidi, with the local name “Bungah Jungkal” and the note that the inner part of the leafy stem is sweet and eaten (p. 241).
- Curcuma aromatica is recorded under the local name “Entimut or Entimu,” used by Dyak women as soap and in medicine for shingles (p. 234).
- Amomum cerasinum, a new species from the lower slopes of Matang, is described as having stems “very tall about 10 feet” with cherry-red corollas and a large lip bearing three red bands (p. 237).
- Phrynium fissifolia is noted for its leaves, which “break up so as to look like those of one of the aroids,” a striking morphological convergence (p. 246).
Conclusion
Ridley’s definitive takeaway is that the Scitamineae of Borneo constitute a flora that is structurally parallel to but taxonomically distinct from that of the Malay Peninsula, with a substantial element of endemism and a high proportion of species yet to be collected or described. The paper serves as a baseline inventory and a call for further systematic work, particularly on the Marantaceae, whose delicate floral morphology demands more careful collection and preservation than had previously been practised.
Context
- Ridley held the position of Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a colonial scientific institution, and his field work in Sarawak was conducted under the administrative umbrella of the British protectorate; his collections and those of his colleagues (Haviland, Hewitt) formed part of the colonial natural-history infrastructure of the region.
- The paper draws primarily on the herbarium of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Sarawak Museum, and its historiographical contribution lies in establishing the first comprehensive (if preliminary) checklist of Bornean Scitamineae, correcting several of Schumann’s earlier determinations, and documenting local ethnobotanical uses that would otherwise have been lost.