Revision of Calamus and Daemonorops (Arecaceae) in Sulawesi

Abstract

The rattans of Sulawesi presented by three different genera Calamus, Daemonorops and Korthalsia. Calamus and Daemonorops belong to subtribe Calaminae whereas Korthalsia belongs to subtribe Korthalsiinae. In Sulawesi Calamus is the biggest rattan genus with the number of species more than 23. This genus is very common tropical genus with the centre of diversity is in South East Asia. In Sulawesi Daemonorops consist of 7 species, whereas Korthalsia has one species only that is K. celebica, endemic species to Sulawesi. Recently the biodiversity of Sulawesi has been under severe threats caused by increasing large scale deforestation projects. Many commercial rattans has been illegally harvested and used as raw material for rattans industry. This alarming fact has ecological impact to the rattans of Sulawesi in the form of imminent massive of biodiversity lost. This situation is very true especially for the rattans because almost all species are climbers and they need trees to support their existence. With the intention to minimize the thread to the existence of the rattans of Sulawesi, basic study on the rattans taxonomy is needed as well as accurate documentation. Definite species delimitation is essential to be studied as the diversity continuously under threats and decreased.