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ORCHIDS IN COASTAL HEATH FOREST OF TERENGGANU

Authors:
51
Species
ORCHIDSINCOASTALHEATHFOREST
OFTERENGGANU
SITI FATIMAH MD ISA, RUSEA GO, JAMILAH MOHD. SALIM@HALIM
AND CHRISTINA YONG SEOK YIEN
INTRODUCTION
Heath forest or Hutan Kerangas (Iban language) is dened by Whitmore
(1984) as the forest that is unable to support rice growth once it was cleared.
The ‘kerangas’ term is also extended to montane forest or simply forest that
is poor in nutrients including forest in Jambu Bongkok area in Terengganu
(Putz, 1978). However, heath forest in Terengganu are distinct from other
heath forest in Malaysia as Terengganu coastal area is dune-originated soil,
or locally addressed as Beach Ridges Interspersed with Swales (BRIS) soil
referring to alternating beach ridges and swales soil system.
Earlier study has identied three main vegetation formations on BRIS soil
system of Terengganu; lowland mixed dipterocarp forest, Melaleuca cajuputi
swamp and heath vegetation (Jamilah et al., 2011). These three vegetation
formations will be collectively identied as heath vegetation. In general,
BRIS soils are poor in nutrients, extreme water holding capacities of either
excessive drainage (ridge area) or waterlogged (Melaleuca swamp), and
high surface temperatures due to high composition of sand (Mohd. Ekhwan
et al., 2009). As a result of less favorable soil conditions and extreme physical
environment, BRIS soils supports lower plant diversity compared to other
vegetation formations in Malaysia. Nevertheless, this soil system supports
edaphically adapted plants, distributed in a clumping pattern according to
resource and water availability (Jamilah et al., 2014).
Beside trees as the main life form in those three vegetation formations,
non-woody plants and herbs are found to be abundant. These groups of
plants capitalize on biological interactions such as being epiphytic or grow
underneath the vegetation clumps to obtain soil and water resources.
They are also manipulating less extreme physical conditions underneath
the clump. Woody plants and trees in heath vegetation of Terengganu are
well studied but little attention given to non-woody plants and herbs. Thus,
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Setiu Wetlands: Species, Ecosystems and Livehoods
this study is aimed to report and provide a checklist for one of the most
important non-woody plant resources that thrive on BRIS soil system for the
rst time. This report could be a basis for conservation of BRIS soil system
natural vegetation, which is currently threatened by habitat fragmentation
and ecosystem degradation caused by infrastructure development and
residential encroachment.
MATERIALSANDMETHOD
Study site This study was focused on two areas in heath vegetation
established on BRIS soil system of Terengganu; Jambu Bongkok Forest
Reserve (JBFR), Dungun and heath vegetation along coastal area of Setiu,
Terengganu. The samplings were conducted from August 2012 to September
2014 with intervals of 3 months between samplings.
Plant collection Throughout the samplings, plant habits and macro
morphology characters such as appearance of rhizome, eshy stem or
pseudo bulbs, leaves venation, inorescence, and reproductive organ
that attributes to the identication of orchid species were observed and
recorded. When necessary, sterile plants were collected as living collections
and transplanted to the greenhouse in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) for
dual purposes of identication (once owered) and ex situ conservation. To
document sympatric species, sterile and non-sterile plant specimens were
collected for voucher specimens following the standard herbarium specimen
preparation techniques as outlined by Birdson and Forman (1989).
IdenticationSpecimens were identied using the characters and the
identication keys described in the revised version of Seidenfaden and Wood
(1992), Holttum (1957) and Comber (1990, 2001). Scientic names adopted
here are those accepted by the latest Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant
Families accessed online at http://apps.kew.org/wcsp (WCSP, 2014). All the
herbarium specimens collected and studied were kept in the Herbarium of
the Biology Department at the Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia
(UPM), Serdang, Selangor.
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Species
RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
This study has documented a total of 26 species of orchids, with an indication
of habitat specicity for several species in some sampling areas (Table 1 &
2; Figure 1, 2 & 3).
A species of Callostylis, Coelogyne, Cymbidium, Phalaenopsis and
Plocoglottis mostly occur in Setiu heath vegetation while Arachnis, Crepidium,
Polystachya, Taeniophyllum and Zeuxine only can be found in JBFR, Dungun
sampling areas. The common species found in both areas are Bromheadia
nlaysoniana, Bulbophyllum corolliferum, Bulbophyllum purpurascens,
Bulbophyllum vaginatum, Dendrobium crumenatum, and Thrixspermum
calceolus (Table 2). This might be due to (1) the variation in soil series,
which favoured the growth of certain species of orchids. This is supported
by the localized variation in soil series and water table that are detected in
BRIS soil system (Mohd. Ekhwan et al., 2009). However, detail study on soil
resources variation could further conrm such interaction between orchids
distribution with soil properties; and (2) the association between specic
habitat type and orchid–fungal relationships. It is well known that germination
of orchid seedling is dependable on mycorrhizal fungi to assist in breaking
physiological dormancy (Rasmussen, 1995; Smith & Read, 1997; Huynh et
al., 2002; Zettler et al., 2003; Porras & Bayman, 2007) and association on
orchid distribution with fungal abundances and specicity of orchid–fungus
relationships indeed occurs (Warcup, 1971, 1981; Shefferson et al., 2007;
Otero et al., 2008; Waterman & Bidartondo, 2008; McCormick et al., 2012).
Thus, the single occurrence of orchid species at only one site of study area
either in Setiu or Jambu Bongkok could indicate the presence of specic
mycorrhizal fungi in BRIS soil. However, further study on orchid–fungus
relationship in BRIS soil is essential to understand the factors governing
orchid distribution and abundance, which could help to conserve and protect
orchid species in the study area.
Habit – The results obtained support our expectation that epiphytic
orchids that anchor on the tree trunk are more abundant compared to
terrestrial orchids growing on the ground (Table 1). Being epiphytic is part of
the strategy of the orchids to overcome the scarcity of nutrients and water
resource in sandy BRIS soil. Tree trunks gather litters that help in providing
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Setiu Wetlands: Species, Ecosystems and Livehoods
organic matter and retaining moisture to orchids. Terrestrial orchids were
found underneath vegetation clumps of heath vegetation, adopting similar
strategy to cope with extreme physical condition of BRIS soil system.
Nevertheless, both epiphytic and terrestrial orchids have direct or indirect
dependence on mycorrhizal fungi which is believed to help in decaying the
organic matter to provide nutritional support by supplying mineral nutrients,
carbohydrates, amino acids, and perhaps vitamins to their host plant.
Table 1: List of Orchid species found in Coastal Heath Forest of Terengganu
Bil. Subfamily Genus Species Habit
1Epidendroideae Arachnis Arachnis osaeris (L.) Rchb.f. Epiphyte
2 Arachnis hookeriana (Rchb.f.)
Rchb.f.
Epiphyte
3 Bromheadia Bromheadia nlaysoniana
(Lindl.) Miq.
Terrestrial
4 Bulbophyllum Bulbophyllum clandestinum
Lindl.
Epiphyte
5 Bulbophyllum corolliferum
J.J.Sm.
Epiphyte
6 Bulbophyllum purpurascens
Teijsm. & Binn.
Epiphyte
7 Bulbophyllum vaginatum
(Lindl) Rchb.f.
Epiphyte
8 Callostylis Callostylis pulchella (Lindl)
S.C.Chen & Z.H.Tsi
Epiphyte
9 Coelogyne Coelogyne foerstermannii
Reichb.f.
Epiphyte
10 Cymbidium Cymbidium nlaysonianum
Lindl.
Epiphyte
11 Cymbidium rectum Ridl. Epiphyte
12 Dendrobium Dendrobium acerosum Lindl. Epiphyte
13 Dendrobium aloifolium (Bl.)
Reichb.f.
Epiphyte
14 Dendrobium crumenatum Sw. Epiphyte
15 Dendrobium leonis (Lindl.)
Reichb.f.
Epiphyte
16 Dendrobium sanguinolentum
Lindl.
Epiphyte
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Species
17 Dienia Dienia ophrydis (J.Konig)
Seidenf.
Terrestrial
18 Phalaenopsis Phalaenopsis pulcherrima
(Lindl.) J.J.Sm.
Terrestrial
19 Plocoglottis Plocoglottis lowii Rchb.f. Terrestrial
20 Polystachya Polystachya concreta (Jacq.)
Garay & H.R.Sweet
Epiphyte
21 Taenophyllum Taenophyllum pusillum (Willd.)
Seidenf. & Ormerod
Epiphyte
22 Thrixspermum Thrixspermum amplexicaule
(Blume) Rchb.f.
Epiphyte
23 Thrixspermum calceolus
(Lindl.) Rchb.f.
Epiphyte
24 Thrixspermum scopa (Rchb.f.
ex Hook.f.) Holttum
Epiphyte
25 Thrixspermum trichoglottis
(Hook.f.) Kuntze
Epiphyte
26 Orchidoideae Zeuxine Zeuxine afnis (Lindl.) Benth.
Ex Hook.f.
Terrestrial
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Setiu Wetlands: Species, Ecosystems and Livehoods
Table 2: List of orchid species found at two study sites on coastal heath forest of Terengganu
StudySite Species
JambuBongkok
ForestReserve
Arachnis os-aeris (L.) Rchb.f.
Arachnis hookeriana (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f.
Bulbophyllum clandestinum Lindl.
Dendrobium acerosum Lindl.
Dendrobium aloifolium (Bl.) Reichb.f.
Dendrobium leonis (Lindl.) Reichb.f.
Dendrobium sanguinolentum Lindl.
Dienia ophrydis (J.Konig) Seideng.
Polystachya concreta (Jacq.) Garay & H.R.Sweet
Taeniophyllum pusillum (Willd.) Seiden.f. & Ormerod
Thrixspermum trichoglottis (Hook.f.) Kuntze
Zeuxine afnis (Lindl.) Benth. Ex Hook.f.
Setiu
Callostylis pulchella (Lindl) S.C.Chen & Z.H.Tsi
Coelogyne foerstermannii Reichb.f.
Cymbidium nlaysonianum Lindl.
Cymbidium rectum Ridl.
Phalaenopsis pulcherrima (Lindl.) J.J.Sm.
Plocoglottis lowii Rchb.f.
Thrixspermum amplexicaule (Blume) Rchb.f.
Thrixspermum scopa (Rchb.f. ex Hook.f.) Holttum
JambuBongkok
ForestReserveand
Setiu
Bromheadia nlaysoniana (Lindl.) Miq.
Bulbophyllum corolliferum J.J.Sm.
Bulbophyllum purpurascens Teijsm. & Binn.
Bulbophyllum vaginatum (Lindl) Rchb.f.
Dendrobium crumenatum Sw.
Thrixspermum calceolus (Lindl.) Rchb.f.
Habit – The results obtained support our expectation that epiphytic
orchids that anchor on the tree trunk are more abundant compared to
terrestrial orchids growing on the ground (Table 1). Being epiphytic is part of
the strategy of the orchids to overcome the scarcity of nutrients and water
resource in sandy BRIS soil. Tree trunks gather litters that help in providing
organic matter and retaining moisture to orchids. Terrestrial orchids were
found underneath vegetation clumps of heath vegetation, adopting similar
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Species
strategy to cope with extreme physical condition of BRIS soil system.
Nevertheless, both epiphytic and terrestrial orchids have direct or indirect
dependence on mycorrhizal fungi which is believed to help in decaying the
organic matter to provide nutritional support by supplying mineral nutrients,
carbohydrates, amino acids, and perhaps vitamins to their host plant.
MorphologyAs one of the plant groups that are adapted to live in dry
environment, orchids in both study area exhibits xeromorphic characteristic
by having eshy leaves covered with hair, thick cuticle or wax that varies
in thickness, smaller leaves area, eshy or swollen stem, a multiseriated
root epidermis and a velamen which absorbs water and minerals, reduces
transpiratory rates, and offers mechanical protection (Engard, 1944; Benzing,
1987; Yukawa & Uehara, 1996; Moreira & Isaias, 2008; Bercu et al., 2011).
The velamen character (velamen roots) is obvious in Arachnis, Bromheadia,
Cymbidium, Phalaenopsis, Taeniophyllum and Thrixspermum. While in
Bulbophyllum, Coelogyne, Eria, Dendrobium, Plocoglottis, and Polystachya
posed an enlarged stem called pseudobulb (‘false’ bulb) as their storage
organs. This structure has central importance in the growth and survival of
orchid especially when it grows in extreme climate area (Sgarbi & Prete,
2005). Pseudobulbs can act as water, mineral and carbohydrate storage
organs, and also plays a role in orchid photosynthesis through Crassulacean
Acid Metabolism (CAM) (Zotz & Winter, 1994; Ng & Hew, 2000).
The most interesting and notable nding gathered from this study
is perhaps that there were at least 10 intra-specic colour variations in
Phalaenopsis pulcherrima (Lindl.) J.J. Sm. (formerly known as Doritis
pulcherrima) that was ranging from dark purple to purplish white and to almost
completely white (alba) (Plate 1). Phalaenopsis pulcherrima colour variation
was observed in sepals, petals, lip and side lobe of the lip. Generally in
Orchidaceae, a small change in colour of the ower alone is not a solid reason
to identify or distinguish the species as a new species or variety of forma.
Colour variation in Dendrobium anceps Sw., Geodorum densiorum (Lam.)
Schlrt., and Vanda cristata Lindl. were observed in the lip and other oral
parts, yet no distinct character to support placement of the species in different
genera (Yonzone et al., 2011; 2012; 2013a; 2013b). It is suggested that this
variation might be due to long term environmental inuences and natural
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Setiu Wetlands: Species, Ecosystems and Livehoods
selection pressures for survival within changed environmental conditions or
plant – pollinator interactions within species (Hapeman & Inoue, 1997; Tripp
& Manos, 2008). Hence, occurrence of colour variation in P. pulcherrima may
not be the criterion to place this species into a new species or variety of
forma. Nonetheless, it is worth to further investigate this phenomenon to
explore whether this variation in colour is caused by environmental factor
solely or inuenced by genetic variation. This could be revealed by using
molecular study or even through cytology to investigate their ploidy level that
might contribute to these colour variations.
Figure 1: Colour variations in Phalaenopsis pulcherrima (Lindl.) J. J. Sm.
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Species
Figure 2: A. Zeuxine afnis (Lindl.) Benth. exHook.f.
B. Arachnis os-aeris (L.) Rchb.f
C. Taenophyllum pusillum (Willd.) Seidenf. & Ormerod
D. Plocoglottis lowii Rchb.f
E. Thrixspermum trichoglottis (Hook.f.) Kuntze
F. Cymbidium nlaysonianum Lindl.
G. Cymbidium rectum Ridl.
H. Dienia ophrydis (J.Konig) Seidenf.
I. Bromheadia nlaysoniana (Lindl.) Miq.
J. Thrixspermum calceolus (Lindl.) Rchb.f.
K. Callostylis pulchella (Lindl.) S.C.Chen & Z.H.Tsi
L. Polystachya concreta (Jacq.) Garay & H.R.Sweet
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Setiu Wetlands: Species, Ecosystems and Livehoods
Figure 3: A. Arachnis hookeriana (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f.
B. Bulbophyllum corolliferum J.J. Sm.
C. Bulbophyllum purpurascens Teijsm. & Binn.
D. Dendrobium aloifolium (Bl.) Reichb.f.
E. Bulbophyllum vaginatum (Lindl.) Rchb.f.
F. Bulbophyllum clandestinum Lindl.
G. Coelogyne foerstermannii Reichb.f.
H. Dendrobium acerosum Lindl.
I. Dendrobium leonis (Lindl.) Reichb.f.
J. Dendrobium sanguinolentum Lindl.
K. Dendrobium crumenatum Sw.
L. Phalaenopsis pulcherrima (Lindl.) J.J. Sm.
M. Thrixspermum amplexicaule (Blume) Rchb.f.
N. Thrixspermum scopa (Rchb.f. ex. Hook.f.) Holttum
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are thankful to the Government of Malaysia for the research grants
made available to the co-author through Universiti Putra Malaysia (9413603
and 6384300). The logistic for eldwork is supported under SIG Wetland
Ecosystem Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (53139). We
would also like to extend our gratitude to many individuals for their support
and invaluable help in making the above study possible.
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