A Taxonomic Revision of the . Important Commercial Timber Genus Hopea (Dipterocarpaceae) In Papuasia

Abstract

This thesis presents a taxonomic revision of the genus Hopea in Papuasia. It is based on 314 collection number which are preserved in the Herbarium Bogoriense, Bogor (BO); Herbarium Manokwari, Cenderawasih University, Manokwari (MAN); The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K); The Natural Museum, London (BM), and the Rijksherbarium Leiden (L). The Leiden collections were loaned to Kew for this project. Papuasia has several local species both in Irian Jaya and in Papua New Guinea More detailed collecting will probably result in the collection of, as yet, undescribed taxa. Methods used follow the normal practice in herbarium taxonomy. Morphological characters, which have been used as the diagnostic taxonomic features, are used in evaluating the species of Hopea. Vegetative morphology: leaf shape, leaf base, leaf texture, number of main nerves, and petiole length; and floristic morphology. pedicel length, sepal shape, petal shape, pollen and fruit size, are the main characters used for determinating the species in the genus. There are thirteen species of Hopea in Papuasia (Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea) but the genus is absent E. Papua New Guinea (Bismark Archipelago and Solomin isl.). In Papua New Guinea nine species are found: Hopea celtidifolia, H. forbesii, H. glabrifolia, H. iriana, H. novoguineensis, H. papuana, H. scabra, H. similis, and H. ultima. Twelve species are found in Irian Jaya Hopea aptera, Hopea celtidifolia, H. forbesii, H. glabrifolia, H. inexpectata, H. iriana, H. novoguineensis, H. papuana, H. scabra, H. similis, H. ultima, and Hopea microcarpa. Hopea novoguineensis is also found in the North Moluccas and the S.E. Celebes. The vegetative and floristic characters upon which the taxonomic revision is based use first discussed. This includes detailed studies on the leaf surfaces using the Scanning Electron Microscope and detail measurement of leaf morphology. The flowers were dicided and studied in detail. Pollen morphology was studied for several species but most anthers, when dissected, contained little pollen. Further collections well be required to be able to assess the significance of the variation observed in the pollen grains. Botanical description are included of all species with notes on the distribution ecology and a list of vernacular names given. A key is included to enable recognition of the species. All collections examined are listed in Appendix 1. of the collections are from Irian Jaya and from Papua New Guinea In the conclusion a several of studies are proposed to increase our knowledge of the taxonomy of Hopea in Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea. dst ...