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Studies on the Alocasia Schott (Araceae–Colocasieae) of Borneo II: Alocasia baginda, a new species from East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.

Authors:
  • University of Florence - Centro Studi Erbario Tropicale
ISSN 1346-7565 Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 60 (3): 123–126 (2011)
Studies on the Alocasia Schott (Araceae-Colocasieae) of Borneo II:
Alocasia baginda, a New Species from Eastern Kalimantan,
Indonesian Borneo
Agung KurniAwAn1,
*
And Peter C. BoyCe2
1Bali Botanic Garden, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Candikuning, Baturiti, Tabanan, Bali, 82191, Indonesia.
*agung _ kurnia1@yahoo.com (author for correspondence); 2Pusat Pengajian Sains Kajihayat
[School of Biological Sciences], Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Alocasia baginda Kurniawan & P. C. Boyce is described and illust rated from an unspecied localit y in
easter n Kalimantan, Indonesian Bor neo, and is inserted into a modied key to Bornean Alocasia. Rec-
ognition of A. baginda takes to 23 the Alocasia described from Borneo, of which 22 are endemic.
Key words: Araceae, Alocasia, Borneo, endemic, Kalimantan
Hay (1998) recognized 19 indigenous Aloca-
sia species for Borneo, of which 18 are strictly
Borneo endemic, many very locally so, with the
other (A. robusta M. Hotta) extending as far as
the Anambas Islands. Eight of Hay’s species were
then novel. Subsequently, an additional three new
species have been described for Borneo (Hay
2000, Boyce 2007), all endemic. Since 2002 eld-
work by the second author has revealed a 14 fur-
ther undescribed (as yet not worked up) species in
Sarawak, while a recent somewhat cursory exam-
ination of herbarium material from Sabah (KNP
& SAN) indicated at least six additional novel-
ties. This total of 42 taxa is overwhelmingly
based on collections from Sarawak, Sabah, and
Brunei (i.e., less than one third of the total land-
mass of Borneo). Kalimantan, comprising more
than 70% of the land area of Borneo, remains
very poorly known, and it is thus highly probable
that Borneo harbors at least 50 Alocasia species,
the overwhelming majority of which can be ex-
pected to be endemic.
Alocasia baginda A. Kurniawan & P. C. Boyce,
sp. nov.—Fig. 1
Alocasiae melo proxima, insigniter foliis rigidissimis
crasse coriaceis fere perfecte peltatis, sed prompte dis-
tinguenda foliis adaxialiter laevibus (non subtiliter et val-
de r ugosis) atro-opace viridibus par tibus disparibus pal-
lide griseis bullatis. In orescentiae specierum ambarum
a prima visione leviter similissimae, sed in A. baginda
spathae constrictio circa in parte media zonae orum sta-
minataru m, dum in A. melo in parte apicali.
Typus. Indonesian Borneo, ex easter n Kalimantan,
without exact locality, cultivated in Bali Botanic Garden,
Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI (Kebun Raya Eka
Karya Bali), under Garden Accession E20081015 (holo-
THBB [dried specimens and inorescences in alcohol];
iso- BO!, K!, L!)
Small rather robust terrestrial herb 25–30 cm
tall; stem shortly erect, developing in age into a
short decumbent rhizome. Leaves up to 4 togeth-
er, spreading; petioles 13–23 cm long, short
sheathing in the lower 1/6–1/7, glabrous, pale
green with scattered white speckles in the lower
part; sheath persistent; leaf blade very broadly
ovate to sub-orbicular, peltate, 10–18 cm long,
124 Vol. 61Acta Phytotax. Geobot.
Fig. 1. Alocasia baginda Kurniawan & P. C. Boyce. A: Type plant i n cultivat ion. B: Leaf blade, adaxial surcace. Note the pale
gray bullae. C: Leaf blade, abaxial surface showing the red venation. D: Freshly opened inorescence. E: Inorescence at
late male anthesis, lower part of spathe par tially removed. Note that the spathe li mb is now semi-translucent. F: Detail of
the pistillate and staminare ower zones. Note that the lowermost syna ndrodes are divided into staminodes. Note, too, the
ascending pistils. Images by Dewi Lestar i and Gede Wawan Setiadi.
February 2011 125
Agung Kurn iAwAn
&
BoyCe
—A New Alocasia f rom Kalimantan
7–12 cm wide, stify and thickly coriaceous, ad-
axially matte dark green, with contrasting pale
grey bullate portions blade dened by the prima-
ry and marginal veins, pale green abaxially, with
the distal part of the midrib, primary and mar-
ginal veins deep red, apex acuminate to apiculate
for ca. 1 cm, thence mucronate for 4 mm; poste-
rior lobes united for 75–90% of their length, 1/2–
1/3 the length of the anterior, with the posterior
costae diverging at 20°, anterior midrib with 3–4
primary lateral veins on each side, diverging at
35° (distal ones) to 80–85° (proximal ones); sec-
ondary venation impressed adaxially. Inores-
cence pairs solitary, each subtended by narrowly
membranous prophyll and surrounded by a single
membranous cataphyll; peduncle 12–13 cm long,
greenish white, exceeding cataphyll; spathe 5–6
cm long; lower spathe abruptly constricted 1.5–2
cm from the base, lower spathe ovoid; spathe
limb erect even after anthesis, narrowly elliptic-
triangular, 3–3.5 cm long, acuminate for ca. 5
mm, externally creamy white, interior glossy
creamy white, deep red along the limb margin as
far as constriction, limb late in anthesis becom-
ing somewhat semi-translucent with the venation
remaining opaque, thence semi-deliquescent;
spadix distinctly shorter than to subequalling the
spathe, 4–4.5 cm long, stipitate; stipe cylindrical,
2–3 mm long, creamy white; pistillate ower
zone 6–7 mm long or about 1/5 the spadix length;
pistils rather loosely arranged, ascending; ova-
ries ovoid, 1.5–2 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm diam.,
greenish to ivory; style short 0.5–1 mm, < 1 mm
diam.; stigma 2–3-lobed, the variation in lobe
number present in a single inorescence, creamy
ivory; sterile interstice slender, 2–3mm long,
partly naked below and with 6–7 synandrodia
above; lowermost synandrodia deeply lobed into
almost separate staminodes, the rest rhombohex-
agonal in plain view, 1–1.5 mm diam.; staminate
ower zone cylindric to subcylindrid, 10–11 mm
long, ca. 1/4 the length of the spadix, 1/3–1/2 held
within the lower spathe chamber, ivory; synan-
dria densely arranged, rhombohexagonal in plan
view, convex-topped, 1–1.5 mm diam.; thecae
slightly overtopped by the synconnective; appen-
dix 1.75–2 cm long, ca. spadix length, narrowly
conic, pale cream. Infructescence and fruits un-
known.
Distribution. Eastern Kalimantan, without
exact locality.
Ecology. Unknown. The species to which A.
baginda shares closest morphological similarities
are locally endemic and obligately associated
with limestone (e.g., A. regina N. E. Br.—NE
Sarawak: Mulu and A. reginula A. Hay—E
Sabah: Bukit Tabin), or ultramacs (A. melo A.
Hay, P. C. Boyce & K. M. Wong—E Sabah: Telu-
pid). It is expected that A. baginda will reveal
similar geological preference once it is relocated
in the wild. It is perhaps worth to note that A.
baginda most closely resembles A. melo and A.
reginula and that perhaps a search of ultramac
and limestone outcrops is in order.
Etymology. The trivial epithet is from the Ba-
hasa Indonesia honoric title denoting ‘King’ or
‘Majesty’. The choice was inuenced by the ‘tra-
dition’ of applying regal epithets in the genus
Alocasia, notably to species, such as this, with
considerable horticultural merit.
Notes. Alocasia baginda most closely resem-
bles A. melo, notably in the very stify thickly
coriaceous almost completely peltate leaf blades
and pale green glabrous petioles. Vegetatively it
is readily distinguished from A. melo by the leaf
blades adaxially smooth (not nely and strongly
rugose), and dark matte green, with contrasting
pale grey bullate portions of the blade. Inores-
cences of both species are supercially very sim-
ilar, although the spathe constriction in A. bagin-
da is situated about mid-way up the staminate
ower zone; whereas that of A. melo coincides
with the top of the staminate zone, resulting in
both the staminate and pistillate zones being en-
closed in the lower spathe.
Alocasia reginula also closely approaches A.
baginda, but is readily differentiated by leaf
blades adaxially very dark black-green with
white primary and secondary venation, and with
wholly deep red abaxial surfaces.
126 Vol. 61Acta Phytotax. Geobot.
We wish to thank Lars Nauheimer (Systematic Botany,
Ludwig Maximilians University, München, Germany) for
drawing our attention to this plant during a recent visit to
Bali. We are especially grateful to Dewi Lestari and Gede
Wawan Setiadi for the photog raphs. We thank Dyan
Meiningsasi S.P. who brought this species from a nursery
in Malang, East Java to be cultivated in Bali Botanic Gar-
den. Many thanks to J. F. Veldkamp (L) for providing the
Latin diagnoses.
References
Boyce, P. C. 2007. Studies on the Alocasia Schott (Arace-
ae-Colocasieae) of Borneo I: Two new species from
Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Gard. Bull. Singapore
58(2): 141–154.
Hay, A. 1998. The genus Alocasia (Araceae-Colocasieae)
in West Malesia and Sulawesi. Gard. Bull. Singapore
50: 221–334.
Hay, A. 2000. Alocasia nebula. Curtis’s Bot. Mag. 17(1):
14–18, pl. 381.
Received September 21, 2010; accepted January 22, 2011
16. Adaxial leaf blade surface strongly and minutely rugose with the tertiary venation raised. (ultramacs:
Sabah) ....................................................................................................................................................... A. melo
16a. Adaxial leaf blade surface smooth, secondary venation impressed or not ................................................. 17
17. Leaf blade variegated .......................................................................................................................................18
17a. Leaf blade not variegated ...............................................................................................................................20
18. Leaf blades thickly and stify subsucculent, adaxially matte .......................................................................19
18a. Leaf blades thinly leathery, somewhat glossy (limestones: SW Sarawak) .....................................A. reversa
19. Adaxial leaf blade surface very dark black-green with white impressed primary and secondary venation;
abaxial surface deep red (limestone: Sabah: Bukit Tabin) ................................................................ A. reginula
19a. Leaf blades adaxially dark green with conspicuous pale grey bullae; abaxial sur face palegreen with the
distal portion of mid-rib, and primary and marginal veins deep red (Eastern Kalimantan) .......... A. baginda
20. Leaf blades with conspicuous intramarginal vein and marginal vein; laminae broadly to narrowly elliptic,
with the base cuneate; male zone wholly within the lower spathe (above 800 m, Borneo) ................A. peltata
20a. Leaf blades with more or less conspicuous marginal vein only; lami nae various; male zone wholly or part-
ly within the lower spathe (mostly below 500 m, Borneo) ...............................................................................21
21. Primary lateral veins numerous, 8–10 on each side of midrib; secondar y venation striate; in peat swamp for-
est (peat swamp forest: Sarawak)................................................................................................... A. minuscula
21a. Primary lateral veins much fewer; secondary venation clearly colocasioid, but not forming interprimar y
collective veins ..................................................................................................................................................22
22. Leaf blades thickly coriaceous to subsucculent; male zone of spadix within lower spathe Chamber .........23
22a. Leaf blades thinly coriaceous or sub-membranous; male zone only partly included .................................24
23. Leaf laminae broadly ovato-elliptic, adaxially pale matt grey, abaxially greenish whitewith conspicuous
deep red axillar y glands abaxially; petioles puber ulent; fruiting spathe magenta (Kapit, evergreen upper hill
forest on sandstones above 500 m asl) ..................................................................................................... A. chaii
23a. Leaf blade narrowly elliptic to ovate to narrowly obovate, mid green above, slightly paler with inconspicu-
ous pale green axillary glands; petioles glabrous fruiting spathe pale green (NW Borneo, kerangas below 500
m) .........................................................................................................................................................A. beccarii
24. Laminae ascending (adult plants) to weakly spreading ( juveniles), thinly and weakly coriaceous, lustrous
deep pur ple-black; petioles minutely puberulent; infructescences deexed (sandstone: Kapit) ... A. infernalis
24a. Laminae pendent to weak ly spreading (adult & juvenile plants), thinly, stify cor iaceous; never deep pur-
ple-black; petioles glabrous; infructescences erect (limestones) .....................................................................25
25. Leaf blades dark green throughout and somewhat darker around midveins; inorescences to ca. 6 together;
stigma mostly tri-lobed (limestones: Gua Niah) .................................................................................A. venusta
25a. Leaf blades grey-green and dark blue-green arou nd veins; inorescences solitar y to paired; stigma mostly
bi-lobed (limestones: SE Sarawak) ......................................................................................................A. reversa
Alocasia baginda may be inserted in the Key in Boyce (2007) after modications to couplet 16:
... The last revision of A locasia in West Malesia and Sulawesi was conducted by , yielding 31 A locasia species. Since then, several new species have been described, six of which are from Borneo (Boyce, 2007;Hay, 2000;Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011;Wong & Boyce, 2016;Wong & Boyce, 2020) and two species are from Sulawesi (Yuzammi & Hay, 1998;2002). These new species bring the total of A locasia in West Malesia and Sulawesi to 39 species, with 26 species officially recognized as originating from Borneo. ...
... Borneo, a center of A locasia diversity (Wong & Boyce, 2016), is estimated to have 50 A locasia species, the majority of which are endemic (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). Kalimantan is a large area in Borneo that is less well known (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). ...
... Borneo, a center of A locasia diversity (Wong & Boyce, 2016), is estimated to have 50 A locasia species, the majority of which are endemic (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). Kalimantan is a large area in Borneo that is less well known (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). According to and Kurniawan & Boyce (2011), it has acknowledged that there are only ten known A locasia species in Kalimantan. ...
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ASIH, N. P. S. & LESTARI, D. 2022. Update on Alocasia cuprea K.Koch distribution in North Kalimantan. Reinwardtia 21(2): 49‒53. — Hitherto Malaysian Bornean Alocasia cuprea K.Koch is a newly recorded species for North Kalimantan, taking Alocasia in Kalimantan to 10 species. An identification key and photos of A. cuprea are presented
... The last revision of A locasia in West Malesia and Sulawesi was conducted by , yielding 31 A locasia species. Since then, several new species have been described, six of which are from Borneo (Boyce, 2007;Hay, 2000;Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011;Wong & Boyce, 2016;Wong & Boyce, 2020) and two species are from Sulawesi (Yuzammi & Hay, 1998;2002). These new species bring the total of A locasia in West Malesia and Sulawesi to 39 species, with 26 species officially recognized as originating from Borneo. ...
... Borneo, a center of A locasia diversity (Wong & Boyce, 2016), is estimated to have 50 A locasia species, the majority of which are endemic (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). Kalimantan is a large area in Borneo that is less well known (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). ...
... Borneo, a center of A locasia diversity (Wong & Boyce, 2016), is estimated to have 50 A locasia species, the majority of which are endemic (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). Kalimantan is a large area in Borneo that is less well known (Kurniawan & Boyce, 2011). According to and Kurniawan & Boyce (2011), it has acknowledged that there are only ten known A locasia species in Kalimantan. ...
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ASIH, N. P. S. & LESTARI, D. 2022. Update on Alocasia cuprea K.Koch distribution in North Kalimantan. Reinwardtia 21(2): 49‒53. — Hitherto Malaysian Bornean Alocasia cuprea K.Koch is a newly recorded species for North Kalimantan, taking Alocasia in Kalimantan to 10 species. An identification key and photos of A. cuprea are presented
... Four years later, an expedition of Bogor Botanical Gardens in Toli-toli, Sulawesi, yielded the discovery of a new species, A. megawatiae Yuzammi & A. Hay [7]. After nearly a decade, one of the Bali Botanical Gardens' staff discovered a new species circulating in the nursery, namely A. baginda A. Kurniawan & P. C. Boyce [8]. As a result of the summary and discovery of the new species, Indonesia now has 27 species of Alocasia, in which 20 species are endemic. ...
... Furthermore, we compiled publications related to Alocasia spp. from various authors [5,8,19]. The combined data was tabulated and screened with a spreadsheet (MS-Excel). ...
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Phylogenetic analysis is beneficial to plant conservation prioritization. Conservation does not only deal with species but also their evolutionary potential. A phylogenetic tree is usually reconstructed by using the alignment of DNA sequences. However, with the availability of megatrees, subsetting with a list of species of concern is possible. Here we reconstructed a list of 53 Alocasia spp. (Araceae) from Indonesia and adjacent regions using available megatrees and publicly available DNA sequences in the GenBank. The result showed placed and unplaced Alocasia spp. on the terminal nodes of reconstructed phylogenetic trees. The unplaced species show that publicly available DNA sequences are not yet available, therefore should be prioritized for sequencing. The placed species in the phylogeny could be used for conservation prioritization of these Alocasia spp. Keywords: Alocasia, Indonesia, Megatree, Phylogeny, Plant conservation
... The genus Alocasia (Schott 1832: 18) G.Don in Sweet (1839: 631) is currently represented by 78 species (Boyce & Croat 2011 onwards), though new species are still consistently being discovered for the past two decades (e.g. Hay 2000, Boyce 2007, Kurniawan et al. 2011, Nguyen et al. 2013, Wong et al. 2016, Van et al. 2017, Hamzah et al. 2017). This genus is mainly distributed in subtropical and tropical Asia, with extensions north to the Pan-Himalayas and south to northern Melanesia-Australasia (Nauheimer et al. 2012a). ...
... This genus is mainly distributed in subtropical and tropical Asia, with extensions north to the Pan-Himalayas and south to northern Melanesia-Australasia (Nauheimer et al. 2012a). Systematic revisions on the genus Alocasia have been achieved much progress in Australasia (Hay & Wise 1991, Hay 1994, west Malesia and Sulawesi (Hay 1998, Yuzammi & Hay 1998, the Philippines (Hay 1999), Borneo (Hay 2000, Boyce 2007, Kurniawan & Boyce 2011, Lesser Sunda Islands (Kurniawan et al. 2013), Thailand (Boyce 2008) and Peninsular Malaysia (Zulhazman et al. 2017). However, the diversity of this genus is still poorly understood from the northern border of its distribution region, namely the Pan-Himalayas. ...
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A new Alocasia species, Alocasia yunqiana, is described and compared with its morphologically related taxa. The novelty is characterized by an oblong-naviculiform-shaped spathe-limb that is strongly hooded and slightly glaucous to glossy during its entire anthesis, a spadix with a sterile interstice and an appendix that are much shorter and thinner than the staminate zone, as well as the dimorphic synandroidia. Detailed information containing description, colored plates and illustration are provided herein.
... The genus Alocasia has been revised for New Guinea (Hay 1990), Australasia (Hay, 1991), West Malesia and Sulawesi (Hay, 1998), the Philippines (Hay 1999) while post main-treatment novelties have been described for New Guinea (Hay 1994), Borneo (Hay et al. 1997, Hay 2000, Boyce 2007), Sulawesi (Yuzammi et al. 1998), Thailand (Boyce 2008) and Peninsular Malaysia (Zulhazman et al. 2017). Though revised for much of its range, Alocasia remains poorly understood and new species are regularly being discovered (Hay 1994, Hay 2000, Hay et al. 1997, Yuzammi et al. 1998, Boyce 2007Kurniawan et al. 2011;Wong et al. 2016, Zulhazman et al. 2017. The genus Alocasia currently comprises over 110 species, among which 32 were named in the past 20 years, and the discovery of new species continues (Kurniawan et al. 2011), while at least 27 more are awaiting description of flowering and fruiting material (Boyce 2008). ...
... Though revised for much of its range, Alocasia remains poorly understood and new species are regularly being discovered (Hay 1994, Hay 2000, Hay et al. 1997, Yuzammi et al. 1998, Boyce 2007Kurniawan et al. 2011;Wong et al. 2016, Zulhazman et al. 2017. The genus Alocasia currently comprises over 110 species, among which 32 were named in the past 20 years, and the discovery of new species continues (Kurniawan et al. 2011), while at least 27 more are awaiting description of flowering and fruiting material (Boyce 2008). This means there are more new taxa to be discovered and the discovery speed of new species is fast in recent years. ...
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Alocasia puncakborneensis is described and illustrated as a new species of the Alocasia Princeps Complex from upper hill forest on the extremely hard Paleogene sandstones of the Penrissen range, SW Sarawak. Alocasia puncakborneensis occurs at the highest altitude of any of the locally-restricted /geologically obligated species yet described for the Princeps Complex.
... Alocasia Schott was last revised for Borneo by , recognizing 20 species of which eight were then described as new, while one probable novelty was left as incompletely known. Since then the incompletely known species was described (Hay 2000), and four entirely new species have been published (Boyce 2007;Kurniawan and Boyce 2011;Wong and Boyce 2016). Presently the Alocasia flora for Borneo stands at 24 described species, of which three -Alocasia longiloba Miq., A. princeps W.Bull, and A. scabriuscula N.E.Br. ...
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Two new species of Nepenthes from Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, N. latiffiana M. N. Faizal, A. Amin & N. Dome and N. domei M. N. Faizal, A. Amin & A. Latiff, are described and illustrated.
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Two new species of Alocasia, A. chaii P.C.Boyce and A. infernalis P.C.Boyce from Kapit Division, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, are described and included into an updated key to Bornean Alocasia. Both species are illustrated.
The genus Alocasia (Araceae-Colocasieae) in West Malesia and Sulawesi
  • A Hay
Hay, A. 1998. The genus Alocasia (Araceae-Colocasieae) in West Malesia and Sulawesi. Gard. Bull. Singapore 50: 221-334.
Alocasia nebula. Curtis's Bot
  • A Hay
Hay, A. 2000. Alocasia nebula. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 17(1): 14-18, pl. 381.
Leaf blades thinly leathery, somewhat glossy (limestones: SW Sarawak)
  • . . Leaf Blade Variegated
Leaf blade variegated.......................................................................................................................................18 17a. Leaf blade not variegated...............................................................................................................................20 18. Leaf blades thickly and stiffly subsucculent, adaxially matte.......................................................................19 18a. Leaf blades thinly leathery, somewhat glossy (limestones: SW Sarawak).....................................A. reversa