Flora and Vegetation of Bali Indonesia E-Book

Edgar Heim

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 231

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

This well illustrated field guide describes about 500 of the most common and eye-catching plants growing on Bali and the adjacent Java, most of them are illustrated with pictures. It is a comprehensive and valuable field guide for tourists and locals. The first part of the book describes the vegetation of Bali. It gives an overview of the Balinese ecosystems. Monsoon forests in the south, moist rainforests in the mountains and dry deciduous forests on the northern slopes generate patterns of unique ecosystems all over the island. The second part of the book is dedicated to the plant species living on Bali. With 400 pictures and their accurate descriptions, the reader should be able to recognize the different species in its habitat. Additionally the book provides information about the traditional und the commercial use of the described plants and characterizes their ecological behavior. The field guide is an essential travel companion for all who love nature.

Leseprobe

Contents

Introduction

Bali and its Vegetation

Geography of Bali

Geology of Bali

Phytogeography of Bali

Climate and Vegetation

Plant Species

Flora

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Information about the species

Use of Plants

Pictures

Abbreviations

Pteridophyta - Ferns

Aspleniaceae

Athyriaceae

Blechnaceae

Cyatheaceae

Dennstaedtiaceae

Dicksoniaceae

Equisetaceae

Gleicheniaceae

Lomariopsidaceae

Marattiaceae

Polypodiaceae

Pteridaceae

Salviniaceae

Selaginellaceae

Tectariaceae

Thelypteridaceae

Gymnospermae

Araucariaceae

Pinaceae

Podocarpaceae

Angiospermae – Flowering plants

Acanthaceae

Actinidiaceae

Adoxaceae

Aizoaceae

Alismataceae

Altingiaceae

Amaranthaceae

Amaryllidaceae

Anacardiaceae

Annonaceae

Apocynaceae

Araceae

Araliaceae

Arecaceae

Asteraceae

Balsaminaceae

Bignoniaceae

Bixaceae

Boraginaceae

Cactaceae

Calophyllaceae

Campanulaceae

Cannabaceae

Caricaceae

Casuarinaceae

Cleomaceae

Clusiaceae

Combretaceae

Commelinaceae

Convolvulaceae

Costaceae

Cucurbitaceae

Cyperaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Fabaceae

Goodeniaceae

Lamiaceae

Lecythidaceae

Linderniaceae

Lythraceae

Malpighiaceae

Malvaceae

Melastomataceae

Meliaceae

Menyanthaceae

Moraceae

Musaceae

Myrtaceae

Nelumbonaceae

Nyctaginaceae

Pandanaceae

Passifloraceae

Phyllanthaceae

Piperaceae

Poaceae

Primulaceae

Rhamnaceae

Rhizophoraceae

Rubiaceae

Rutaceae

Sapotaceae

Solanaceae

Urticaceae

Verbenaceae

Vitaceae

Zingiberaceae

Zygophyllaceae

References

Index

Introduction

Unfortunately many developing countries do not have any literature about the flora and their biodiversity. Over the years I have collected a large amount of information about the vegetation around the world and accumulated more than 40'000 pictures of plants from different countries. For my own sake I compiled my personal field guides for my journeys and got a lot of compliments and encourragement while travelling. So I decided to publish my personal field guides. One of them is the "Flora and Vegetation of Bali indonesia", another one is the "Flora of Arequipa, Peru", several others are in progress. I am convinced that knowledge of plants enhances environmental care. Only knowing people will love and care about the species living in their neighborhood. So I hope to enhance environmental care with this booklet and contribute to global biodiversity conservation.

This well illustrated field guide describes about 500 of the most common and eyecatching plants growing on Bali and the adjacent Java, most of them are illustrated with pictures. It is a comprehensive and valuable field guide for tourists and locals.

The first part of the book describes the vegetation of Bali. It gives an overview of the Balinese ecosystems. Monsoon forests in the south, moist rainforests in the mountains and dry deciduous forests on the northern slopes generate patterns of unique ecosystems all over the island.

The second part of the book is dedicated to the plant species living on Bali. With 400 pictures and their accurate descriptions, the reader should be able to recognize the different species in its habitat. Additionally the book provides information about the traditional und the commercial use of the described plants and characterizes their ecological behavior.

The field guide is an essential travel companion for all who love nature.

Please let me know if you notice a misidentified species or some other error in this book!

Edgar Heim

[email protected]

Bali and its Vegetation

Geography of Bali

The island Bali is a province of Indonesia located between longitude 8°04’ and 8°51’ S and latitude 114° 26’ and 115°43’ E. In the west, it borders to Java and in the east to Lombok.

Bali covers an area of 5,780 km2 and the highest elevation is the volcano Mount Agung, attaining an elevation of 3,148 m. According to the 2010 census 3,890,757 people lived on Bali, for 2014 the population is estimated to be 4,225,000. 89 % belong to the ethnic group of Balinese, 7 % are Javanese (Wikipedia, 2014). With 730 people per km2, Bali is one of the most densely populated regions of the world.

The economy is mainly based on tourism (c. 80 % of GDP) and agriculture (biggest employer) (Wikipedia, 2014). Tourism suffered significantly because of the terrorist bombings 2002 and 2005. Meanwhile it recovered and in 2010, more than 2.5 million tourists visited Bali. Tourism concentrates on the south of the Island, in Kuta and surroundings.

Geology of Bali

Its active volcanoes characterize Bali and the adjacent Java. Both Islands were formed because of the subduction and remelting of the Australian-Indian Ocean tectonic plate beneath the Eurasian plate at the Java trench. This process triggered the rising of volcanoes, which formed Java 24 million years ago and Bali 3 million ago (Morrison, 2014).

Therefore, the surface geology of Bali consists of volcanic deposits, alluvial sediments and uplifted coral limestone. This process is still ongoing; the volcanoes on Bali and Java are among the most active in the world. Gunung Agung for instance erupted in 1963, caused severe damage, and killed more than 1500 people. The last eruption of Mount Batur dates back to 1968, when the lava field near Kintamani was formed.

Phytogeography of Bali

During previous ice ages, the sea levels were much lower and Java (and Bali) was connected to Sumatra, Borneo and the Asian mainland (Sathiamurthy & Voris, 2006). This landmass is called Sunda and laid adjacent to Sahul, one part of the Australian-Indian tectonic plate, consisting then of modern Australia and New Guinea. Sunda belonged to the super continent of Laurasia; Sahul was part of former Gondwana. Both super continents were separated for at least 180-200 million years. During this long time species, evolution went different ways on both super continents, creating a continent specific flora and fauna. In Sunda the forests consists mainly of Dipterocarpus (Dipterocarpaceae), in Sahul dominate different species of Myrthaceae (Syzigium, Eucalyptus, etc.). Both biogeographic regions were connected by stepping stones, small islands between the two landmasses. On these islands, the species from both continents gradually mixed up, forming a transition gradient from west to east. Depending on the viewpoint, the biogeographic boundary between the two former landmasses is defined slightly different. Alfred Russel Wallace defined the “Wallace Line”, mainly based on the distribution of birds. Max Wilhelm Carl Weber’s “Weber Line” rest on the distribution of the mammalian fauna and Richard Lydekker set his line according to fossil mammals, reptiles and birds.

Fig. 1: Map showing the Sunda and Sahul landmass during the last glacial period, when the sea level was 110 m lower than today (Dörrbecker, 2014). The three boundary lines base on different taxa-focus.

Bali is located in the Paleotropical floristic kingdom and therein is part of the Malesian floristic region. Takhtajan (1986) divides the Malesian region in three subregions and 11 provinces. Bali is part of the Malesian subregion and the South Malesian province. Based on the biome classification of Walter & Breckle (1999), the South Malesian province belongs to the zonobiome I, the tropical rain forest.

Climate and Vegetation

Bali is located in the tropical rain belt, so the island’s climate is characterized by constant temperature and seasonal variations in precipitation.

Fig. 2: Climate graphs of some locations on Bali. The average daily temperature is constant and rainfall shows marked seasonal differences.

Table 1: Climate data from several regions of Bali.

The climate of Bali is governed by the oscillations of air masses within the inter-tropical convergence zone. The variation in air and sea temperature through the year is small. In Denpasar, e.g. the lowest average daily temperature with 25.6°C in July and the highest with 27.2°C in December differ less than 2°C.

Rainfall shows marked seasonal differences, though more in the north than in the south. This seasonality is due to the dry southeast trade or monsoon winds, blowing from Australia in the middle of the year. The winds are forced up by the mountains so that the air cools down and the remaining humidity forms clouds and rains out. Falling down the northern slopes, the winds warm up again and get dryer than before. Therefore, the northern part of Bali experiences more than eight dry months, in the southern part the dry season lasts 5 months. The wettest places are the mountains in Central Bali, where it rains throughout the year and the annual rainfall reaches 4000 mm (Whitten, Soeriaatmadja, & Afiff, 1997). Climatic data from Bali are shown in Fig. 2 and Table 1.

A warm pool of water oscillates in an irregular manner between Indonesia and the eastern Pacific. The warm phase of this so-called El Niño event results in extended dry seasons and droughts (Whitten, Soeriaatmadja, & Afiff, 1997).

Following the Köppe-Geiger climate classification system (McKnight & Hess, 2000) the climate and vegetation of Bali can be divided in three types:

The tropical rainforest climate (Köppen-Geiger climate Af) in the center of the island, naturally covered by dense stands of evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forests.

The tropical monsoon climate (Köppen-Geiger climate Am) in the lowlands of the island, naturally covered by moist and dry deciduous forests.

The savanna climate (Köppen-Geiger climate Aw) in the driest spots in the north and northeast of the island, naturally covered by grassland, dry scrubland and palm groves. The corresponding vegetation types are described as follows.

The lowland rain forests have clothed much of the central slopes of Bali up to an altitude of 1200 m. During the last century, these forests were almost entirely cleared by the fast growing population and transformed into settlements, orchards or agriculture land. Nowadays, virgin lowland rain forests still grow in some isolated stands in Java. In Bali remain only a few very small patches, intensively disturbed by human activities. The evergreen lowland rain forests are dominated by Dipterocarpus sp. (Dipterocarpaceae) and contain Artocarpus elasticus (Moraceae), Dysoxylum caulostachyum (Meliaceae), Lansium domesticum (Meliaceae) and Planchonia valida (Lecythidaceae) (Whitten, Soeriaatmadja, & Afiff, 1997).

Above 1200 m, montane species appear gradually and form the montane rain forest. It is characterized by abundant fern growth, e.g. tree ferns like Cyathea latebrosa (Cyatheaceae) or Dicksonia blumei (Dicksoniaceae) and distinct trees like Casuarina junghuhniana (Casuarinaceae), Altingia excelsa (Altingiaceae) and Dacrycarpus imbricarpus (Podocarpaceae).

Moist deciduous forests are simple, lightly closed forests and grow up to 1200 m altitude. They get 1,500-4,000 mm of rainfall annually, with a four- to six-month dry season. Common lowland deciduous trees in eastern Java and Bali are Homalium bhamoense (Salicaceae), Albizia lebbekoides, Acacia leucophloea, A. tomentosa, Bauhinia malabarica, Cassia fistula (all Fabaceae), Dillenia pentagyna, Tetrameles nudiflora (Tetramelaceae), Ailanthus integrifolia (Simaroubaceae), and Phyllanthus emblica (Phyllanthaceae). Many herbaceous plants are confined to the deciduous forests (Whitten et al. 1996).

In areas with dry seasons lasting more than six months grow dry deciduous forests, characterized by Borassus flabellifer (Arecaceae), a large palm and several other dry resistant. In Bali this vegetation type is common on the northern coast, e.g. on the hills at Amed in the east or the northern part of Bali Barat National Park. Disturbance by domestic vertebrate pressure and firewood gathering favors thorny species like Ziziphus jujuba (Rhamnaceae) or Opuntia elatior (Cactaceae), both introduced species.

Apart from these zonal vegetation types, specific environmental factors form azonal vegetation, like the mangrove forests. These evergreen forests are very well adapted to saline conditions and grow in the tidal zone of the coast. Due to stable climatic conditions during the last 40 million years, the southeastern Asiatic mangroves could evolve constantly on site.

The first evidence of Homo sapiens in Bali dates back to 40’000 BCE (before Common Era). Recent archeological research (Indriati, et al., 2011) shows that Homo erectus, the Java Man, who lived in southeastern Asia at least 1.5 million years ago, went extinct long before that time. Thus, Homo erectus probably did not share habitats with modern humans. The Forest Man fixed in several Indonesian mythologies might have been Homo floresiensis, the Flores Man, who lived isolated on Flores and went extinct 17,000 years BCE.

Therefore, the vegetation of Bali is strongly influenced by human activity. Due to the high population density, nearly every little patch is used for farming, rice growing or animal husbandry.

Plant Species

Flora

On Java were recorded a total number of 6500 vascular plant species (Whitten, Soeriaatmadja, & Afiff, 1997). For Bali there is no information about the number of living species. It may be assumed that the total number is significantly smaller, because of the theory of island biogeography (MacArthur & Wilson, 1967). Java is more than 20 times larger than Bali. As the climate and the geographic location of the two islands are very similar, theoretically the number of plant species living on Bali would be between 40 and 50% of the number living on Java. Therefore the number of vascular plant species on Bali may be estimated to be around 3000 and 3500.

On Java, 68% of the species are native vascular plants, 23% are cultivated introduced plants and 9% are allien and naturalized plants (Steenis & Schippers-Lammertse, 1965). It may be assumed that the situation for Bali is similar.

Java and Bali is poor in endemic species. There are at least 325 endemic species, but no endemic genera on both islands. This may be to the turbulent volcanic history of the islands which simply has not given time fo higher levels of endemism to develop (Whitten, Soeriaatmadja, & Afiff, 1997).

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

During the last decade, much research was done on phylogenetic all over the world. Comparing the genetic material of different species produces an objective evidence of relationship. Therefore, the taxonomic system has been adapted continuously. In the plant kingdom, several families were rearranged and genera were transferred to other families. Some classification criteria were abolished, e.g. the differentiation between monocots and dicots. In the future new findings will improve the knowledge of evolution and lead to more modifications in taxonomy. Probably this field guide will already be outdated by the time it is published.

Latest research was included in this book as good as possible. The scientific names are strictly applied as proposed in The Plant List (Version 1.1, 2014). Generally, synonyms were not mentioned in this plant guide except for species that are well known under the old scientific name.

The English common names were found on the internet.

Information about the species

The description of the species, the geographical distribution, the ecological parameters and further information are mainly based on the “Flora of China” (Missouri Botanical Garden, 2014), “Useful tropical plants” (Fern, 2014), “Ferns of Bali” (Adjie & Lestari, 2011), “Encyclopedia of Life” (EOL, 2003 onwards) “The Flora Malesiana” (van Steenis & Holttum, 1959), the GRIN database (USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, 2014) and “Flowers of India (Thingnam & Tabish, 2005 - 2014). Further were consulted the Nationaal Herbarium Holland (Whitmore, Coode, & Hoffmann, 2014), the Bali Botanical Garden (2014), “Invasive Species Compendium” (ISSG, 2014), “Handbook of Mangroves in Indonesia” (Kitamura, Anwar, Chaniago, & Baba, 1997 (2004)), “Trees commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia” (Jensen, 1999), “Forest Ferns” (Forest Ferns, 2014), “Palmen” (Jones, 1994), “Ferns of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia” (Lindsay & Middleton, 2012 onwards), “The DNA of Singapore” (Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, 2014), “Flora Indonesiana” (Setyo Lestari & Adjie, 2011), “Aroids of Bali” (Kurniawan & Sri Asih, 2014), “Plants of Southeast Asia” (Slick, 2009 onwards), “Cyathea of Java” (Wardani, 2014), “Digital Flora of the Philippines” (Pelser, Barcelona, & Nickrent, 2011 onwards), “Fotos Biodiversitas Indonesia” (FOBI, 2009-20014), “Plants Database” (USDA, 2014), “Western Australian Flora” (Western Australian Herbarium, 1998-, Release 2.8.25) and “Australian Rainforest Plants” (Zich & West, 2010).

If there were contradictory information between the own records and/or the references, clarification was sought by consulting further literature.

Use of Plants

The human use of the described plants is based on the database “Plants for a Future” (1996-2014) and „Useful tropical plants“ (Fern, 2014). Moreover were integrated available publications on pharmacological and chemical analysis of plants found on the World Wide Web. There is plenty of this kind of literature references but a broad systematic survey was not done. The incorporated papers were included in the reference list but are not always explicitly cited in the text.

Please notice that the author cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects caused by the use of plants. Always get first the advice from a professional before using a plant for food or medicinally.

Pictures

The author himself took all photographs.

Abbreviations

Ecology:

not native, introduced

H2O water plant

N nitrophilous plant

Ca calcareous plant

NaCl halophilous plant

Human use:

edible

medicinal plant

poisonous

fodder

ornamental

fuel

industrial and technical use

The author cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects caused by the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant for food or medicinally.

Pteridophyta - Ferns

Aspleniaceae

Asplenium nidus L.

Common Bird’s Nest Fern

Description: Epiphytic, seldom terrestrial fern with large simple fronds, 50-150 cm long and 10-20 cm broad, light green with a black midrib. Spores in sori on the underside of the fronds. The fronds grows from a rosette and roll back as they brown forming huge “bird’s nests” on tree branches.

Ecology: In the shade of forests. Minimum temperature is 10°C, what limits its propagation at higher altitudes.

Distribution: East tropical Africa, temperate tropical Asia and Australasia.

Use: Widely cultivated as ornamental plant. Locally used in folk medicine to treat asthma, sores and weakness. The spouts are eaten as vegetable in Taiwan.

Remarks: A number of ferns contain carcinogens and thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. Therefore, some caution is advisable by eating ferns. Heat or thorough drying destroys Thiaminase.

Other Asplenium: A. belangeri Bory, A. caudatum G. Forst., A. tenerum G. Frost., A. robustum Blume.

Athyriaceae

Deparia petersenii (Kunze) M. Kato

Japanese False Spleenwort

Description: Plants evergreen. Rhizome slender, creeping, dark brown, fronds up to 1 m tall. Lamina herbaceous, green or gray-green to light yellow-green when dry, darker adaxially. Sori shortly linear or linear-oblong, less than 6 pairs per lobe. Spores semicircular in equatorial view.

Ecology: Various habitats, including broad-leaved forests and wastelands, sea level to 2500 m.

Distribution: Native to tropical Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Use: No use recorded.

Remarks: Deparia is sometimes placed in the family Woodsiaceae. There is great variability in the size and morphology of fertile plants.

1 Asplenium nidus

2 Asplenium nidus

3 Asplenium robustum

4 Deparia petersenii

Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) SW

Vegetable Fern

Description: Terrestrial fern with erect rhizome, sometimes more than 1 m height. Stipes about 70 cm long. Frond (bi-) pinnate, green.

Ecology: Usually on moist, level ground in paddy fields or along rivers in open places or at least in light shade at low or medium elevations up to c. 1200 m altitude.

Distribution: Pantropical species, native to Asia and Oceania.

Use: The young fronds are stir-fried as vegetables or used in salads.

Other Diplazium: D. proliferum (Lam.) Thouars, native to Indonesia, erect terrestrial fern with stipes about 50 cm long. Frond pinnate, 5-15 pairs of lateral stalked to sessile leaflets, aerial bulbs in the midribs of the fronds. Aerial bulbs and young fronds are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Blechnaceae

Blechnum orientale L.

Centipede Fern

Description: Rhizomatous, perennial fern, 0.3-2 m high, fronds pinnate, leaflets margin entire, sometimes rolled up. Sori linear, forming two bands, one each side of pinna midrib.

Ecology: Exposed shrubby or low hillsides, 200-1000 m.

Distribution: Native to tropical Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Use: Ornamental plant. It is used ethno medicinally for the treatment of various skin diseases, stomach pain, urinary bladder complaints and sterilization of women. New research indicates that it might be used as an antioxidant agent, for colon cancer therapy and for treatment of gram-positive bacterial infectious diseases (Lai, Lim, & Kim, 2010). Also discussed for bioaccumulation of heavy metals.

Other Blechnum: B. patersonii (R. Br.) Mett., a similar species with broader leaflets.

Cyatheaceae

Cyathea contaminans (Wall. ex Hook.) Copel.

Mountain Tree Fern, Blue Tree Fern, West Indian Tree Fern

Description: Vigorous and fast growing tree fern reaching 12 m in height. Trunk with pale hairs, old part showing leaf scars, basal part much thickened by adventitious roots. Stipes up to 100 cm long, glaucous, purplish towards the base, strongly spiny. Lamina glaucous beneath, crenate-serrate.

Ecology: Pioneer in disturbed forests, growing up to 1700 m. Temperature between 5°C and 32°C.

Distribution: Native to India, New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Use: Cultivated as ornamental.

Other Cyathea: C. latebrosa (Wall. ex Hook.) Copel., native tree fern up to 10 m tall. Erect trunk, growing usually to a height of 3-4 m. Fronds bi- or tripinnate, 2 m long, forming a sparse, feathery crown. Widespread species growing in forests from sea level up to 1500 m (picture next page).

5 Diplazium esculentum

6 Diplazium proliferum

7 Blechnum orientale

8 Cyathea contaminans

Dennstaedtiaceae

Acrostichum aureum L.

Mangrove Fern, Golden Leather FernH2O NaCl

Description: Erect fern with leathery fronds, red when young. Height up to 1.8 m. Leaflets pinnate, alternate and wide spaced.

Ecology: Swamps and mangroves, salt tolerant. It can form dense stands in cleared mangrove forests, which is favorable for the regeneration of Rhizophora mucronata.

Distribution: Tropical and subtropical areas around the world.

Use: Rhizomes are pounded into a paste and used to treat wounds and boils. Leaves are used to stop bleeding.

Adiantum raddianum C.Presl

Delta Maidenhair Fern

Description: Delicate fern with black fronds and triangular leaflets. The fronds are semi-erect at the beginning, then droop gracefully as they age.

Ecology: Grows terrestrial and on rocks, at wet and shaded places, from lowlands to ca 2000 m.

Distribution: Native to South America. Cultivated and introduced elsewhere.

Use: Ornamental fern.

Other Adiantum: A. trapeziforme L., Giant Maidenhair, a rhizomatous and evergreen fern native to South America, growing to a height of 30-90 cm tall. The wiry stipes are erect and almost black in color. Naturalized ornamental fern.

Lindsaea odorata Roxb.

No common name recorded

Synonyms: Osmolindsaea odorata (Roxb.) Lehtonen & Christenh.

Description: Rhizomes shortly to long creeping, densely scaly. Stipe stramineous to greenish with a darker base, 2-13 cm, abaxially rounded, adaxially grooved, lamina ovatelanceolate to linearlanceolate, 7-40 × 1-4 cm, herbaceous, 1-pinnate. Leaflets rhombic-trapeziform to triangular, unequal and attenuate at base. Sori interrupted, spores smooth.

Ecology: Terrestrial or on rocks beside streams, forests, roadsides, manmade walls, 400-1250 m.

Distribution: Native to tropical Africa and Asia.

Use: No use recorded.

9 Cyathea latebrosa

10 Acrostichum aureum

11 Adiantum raddianum

12 Lindsaea odorata

Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn

Bracken

Description: Very vigorous, herbaceous, perennial fern growing around 120 – 250 cm tall and spreading widely at the roots to form large colonies. Lamina tripinnate to quadripinnatifid at base, the apex growing for a considerable period.

Ecology: Usually growing in open areas, up to 2000 m altitude. Forms big thicket at edge of forest or clearing in sunny places. Acidophilus plant and common in pine forest but rather rare in limestone areas. The rhizomes run underground and the species rapidly regenerates after fire.

Distribution: Cosmopolitan species, possibly the most widespread plant-species in the world. From the boreal zone to the tropics but absent from the Arctic and temperate South America.

Use: The root contains 60% starch, which can be used for human consumption or as glue. Young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked, like asparagus or like spinach. Several medicinal uses as diuretic, refrigerant and vermifuge. A brown dye is obtained from the fronds.

Remarks: Several subspecies. The taxonomic status of the taxa in Bali is not clear.

Dicksoniaceae

Dicksonia blumei (Kunze) T. Moore

Dicksonia

Description: Tree, up to 6 m high. Young fronds with plenty of brownish-red hairs.

Ecology: Rain forest and damp mountain forest.

Distribution: Indonesia and the Philippines.

Use: Cultivated as ornamental tree fern. The scales from the leaves are used to stop bleeding.

Equisetaceae

Equisetum ramosissimum ssp. debile (Roxb. ex Vaucher) Hauke

Branched HorsetailH2O

Description: Evergreen perennial plant with leafless stems and whorls of branches at their nodes. The deep-rooted rhizome is very persistent.

Ecology: Wet places, riverbanks and along trails, up to 3000 m altitude.

Distribution: Native to subtropical and tropical Asia.

Use: The juice of the roots is used to relieve the pain of toothache. The stem is diuretic and is used in the treatment of hypertension and reddening and swelling pain in the eye. The stems accumulate crystals of silica. They are used as a scourer for cleaning cooking utensils and shaping or smoothing tools (like sandpaper).

Remarks: E. ramosissimum has a very wide range from temperate Europe and Asia to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The subspecies debile is restricted to Asia.

13 Pteridium aquilinum

14 Dicksonia blumei

15 Equisetum ramosissimum ssp. debile

16 Dicranopteris linearis (text on following page)

Gleicheniaceae

Dicranopteris linearis (Burm. f.) Underw.

Coral Fern

Description: Terrestrial fern with a widely creeping, glabrous rhizome. Fronds spaced apart, stipe up to 1 m long, golden brown, glabrous, lamina 2-3 times dichotomously divided with a pair of reduced pinnae present at each fork of the divisions. Pinnae narrowly lanceolate, deeply pinnatifid. Sori sub circular, c. 1 mm in diameter, arranged in two rows along the midrib of the pinnule lobes.

Ecology: Forest margins or open ground, in poor soils, often colonizing disturbed ground or cleared forest, and nearly always in full sun. It is a soil-binding pioneer after a landslide or other erosions, or after a forest fire.

Distribution: Native to tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Use: The roots are used as source of starch by the Aborigines of Australia. The leaves are used as antiasthmatic, febrifuge and poultice. A fluid extracted from the fronds has shown antibacterial activity. The stems are used for waving baskets and to make partitions inside houses.

Remarks: Several varieties with different ecological niches.

Lomariopsidaceae

Nephrolepis brownii (Desv.) Hovenkamp & Miyam.

Asian Swordfern

Synonyms: Nephrodium browni Desv.

Description: Plants forming tufts of 5 or 6 fronds. Runners often forming stilts supporting the upright rhizome. Fronds 70-130 x 12 cm. Middle pinnae straight or slightly falcate. Fertile pinnae 6x1 cm, with more distinctly serrate margin than the sterile pinnae. Rachis scales dense, spreading, hyaline or light brown, with a well-developed protracted entire or ciliate acumen (ciliate in the lower part). Scales on lamina usually persistent, often also persistent on upper surface. Hairs on lamina absent. Sori marginal or sub marginal (rarely), 25-27 pairs on fully fertile pinnae, round.

Ecology: Forests, on bare rock, e.g. on lava at Mount Batur, from 200 up to 1700 m.

Distribution: Probably native to Malesia, introduced and naturalized in tropical Asia and Australia.

Other Nephrolepis: N. falcata (Cav.) C. Chr., Fishtail Swordfern, native to SE-Asia and tropical Australia. Epiphytic fern, rhizome with dark brown scales, fronds usually pendulous, basal pinnae distant, small, elliptic, middle pinnae falcate, base truncate and slightly auriculate, apex acuminate. Sori orbicular, apart, submarginal.

N. hirsutula (G. Forst.) C. Presl, Scaly Swordfern, native to Malesia, tropical Australia and the Pacific Islands. Terrestrial fern of rainforests, from lowlands up to 1200 m. Fronds fairly long, rachis with dense rusty scales

Two species from South America, N. exaltata (L.) Schott and N. cordifolia (L.) C.Presl, are often cultivated in Bali and probably both were naturalized.

17 Nephrolepis brownii

18 Nephrolepis falcata

19 Nephrolepis hirsutula

20 Nephrolepis cordifolia

Marattiaceae

Angiopteris evecta (G. Forst.) Hoffm.

Giant Fern, King’s Fern, Oriental Vessel Fern

Description: Large fern reaching up to 7 m. Fronds 5-6 m large with 2 m long petioles.

Ecology: Rainforests, in wet valleys, gorges and slopes at low to middle elevations (0-1500 m). Reproduces vegetative and forms dense stands.

Distribution: Native to Indonesia and tropical Australia. Invasive in Hawaii and Central America. The taxa of Indonesia are not fully understood and do not appear to belong to A. evecta sensu stricto.

Use: Cultivated worldwide as an ornamental fern. The starchy rhizomes are sometimes eaten or used to perfume coconut oil.

Polypodiaceae

Drynaria quercifolia (L.) J.Sm.

Oak Leaf Fern