Malaysia's palm heritage

There is a garden of palm trees growing deep within the confines of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (Frim) in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur. In this sanctuary, palm trees of varied forms and sizes can be seen. There are some that soar high, some with leaves big enough to shield one from the sun and rain, some that coil around other trees and some that are just a mass of long leaves emerging from the ground.

The lush reserve known as the Kepong Botanic Gardens, housed within Frim, is a little-known place that was recently shared when wild-palm tree expert Dr Saw Leng Guan led a walk there. Some 100 species of palm trees have been cultivated in the garden alongside other plants, to serve as a living collection of rare and endangered species. During the walk and the talk before that, Saw shed light on this group of plants which most of us know little of even though we’re surrounded by them.

Long before oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), which is not native to Malaysia but originates from West Africa, took over the landscape, there were wild palms. They are a common feature of the tropical forest. In fact, Malaysia is a palm-rich country – it has one of the highest diversity of palm species in the world. Of the known 2,600 palm species, 443 are found here. The fact that we have named many of our states and towns after palms – Penang, Kedah, Salak South, Nibong Tebal, Bertam and Serdang – is an indicator of our rich palm heritage.

 

Palm sanctuary

In the Frim botanical garden, palm seeds and wildings collected over the years by botanists such as Saw are cultivated as part of an ex-situ conservation measure. He points out that most people will know a palm tree when they see one because of its construction.

“They have well-defined architecture and leaf morphology. They are solitary or clustered and hardly branch, and have only a single trunk. That’s why you should never prune your palm, you’ll kill it,” says the director of the forest biodiversity division at Frim.

His passion for palms is obvious as he shares insightful details about the plant. Many of us had no idea that so many palm species exist, and we certainly had no idea that they could all look so different. The most beautiful part of palms – which is what makes them so popular in horticulture – is their leaves. And boy, do the leaves come in unusual shapes. Aside from the familiar feathered leaves, some leaves are fan-like, fish-tail-like, and even slightly diamond-shaped. 

Some leaves divide into two to resemble the wings of butterflies like the Pinanga disticha. Drawing our attention to the mottled patterns on the leaves, Saw exclaimed, “Isn’t that beautiful?” That line was oft-repeated throughout the hour-long walk. 

In his 24 years of studying palm trees, he has described 49 new palm species. His foray into the world of palms stemmed from a meeting with palm specialist Dr John Dransfield (former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). He opted to research palm trees for his Masters and PhD degrees, and the interest kept growing from there.

As we trail closely behind Saw down a path in the botanical garden, and listen closely to his explanations, it is difficult not to be fascinated too. Wild palms are not just pretty to look at; they are of socio-economic importance, too. They are a source of rattan and rural communities depend on them for thatch, fibres and fruits. Their pretty leaves make them valuable as ornamental plants. Palms are most diverse in lowland and hill forests. There are fewer varieties in other habitats though some species are confined to certain areas such as peat swamps, limestone hills and highlands.

 

Rare and endangered

Their high endemism (peculiar to a specific place) makes palms an important flora. Of the 231 species found in Malaysia, 118 can be found nowhere else. In Sabah and Sarawak, 191 of the 272 species are confined there. “Seven of 10 palm species in Malaysia are only found here. In terms of conservation, this is important. If we lose any of these species, that means that species goes extinct,” Saw explains.

Examples of such rarities are Maxburettia graciles (found only in Langkawi) and Maxburettia rupicola (restricted to two limestone hills in Selangor, Bukit Takun and Batu Caves).

Of the 41 species of Licuala in Peninsular Malaysia, 33 are endemic. Of these, 19 are hyper-endemics – they are known only from a very restricted range. One hyper-endemic is Licuala cameronensis, which Saw described in 1997. It has been found only in the lower montane forest of Cameron Highlands, Pahang.

“Based on its population size and range, the species is assessed as critically endangered. The population is safe only as long as the forest reserve remains and is not converted to other land use,” says Saw. 

We come by a towering palm. The leaves are big enough to shade Saw. The sign underneath reads – daun payung, Johannesteijsmannia magnifica. One of the world’s largest palms, its leaves can be 3-metre long and 2-metre wide and are favoured by the orang asli (indigenous people) for thatch. The Johannesteijsmannia genus has only four species worldwide, three of which are confined to Peninsular Malaysia, and even then, limited to small pockets of primary forest in several states.

If you are in Kedah, Saw advises that you look out for Corypha utan palms standing tall from paddy fields. If the timing is right, you might see long stems full of yellow blooms emanating from the treetops. These imposing palms flower only once in their lifetime, and die soon after their fruits mature. Saw explains that this is because they have exhausted their carbohydrate store in that single flowering and fruiting event.

He also tells us about the Borassodendron machodonis, an endemic palm with huge fruits usually found in limestone areas. “You look at it and you wonder if nature has made a mistake. But nature is never wrong. Megafauna such as elephants, disperse these fruits,” he says.

 

Stemming the loss

As forests disappear, so does our wild flora. Frim is currently conducting conservation assessment for the nation’s plants. Of the 1,132 species reviewed so far, 257 are under threat. “All these plants deserve attention. Palms, on the other hand, needs special attention because of their endemism and because they are predominantly lowland forest plants. If we don’t take steps now, we are likely to see some of these species go extinct,” says Saw.

Frim has so far listed 34 palm species as critically endangered and 30, endangered – and that’s just a preliminary assessment. 

“In most cases, the reasons for their listing are due to their very restricted distribution and imminent threat by the loss of habitat,” explains Saw. So far, one palm species has been listed as extinct – Salacca lophospatha from Sabah. The species was described in 1942 and was never seen again.

Over the years of botany work, Saw has seen forests which harbour rare flora being destroyed by farms, plantations and development. 

 

Take action

The findings of Frim on endangered plants have been passed on to the natural resources and environment ministry and the forestry department; what is needed now is follow-up action to deal with the threatened plants.

“We need to identify important plant areas and conserve them. Land must be managed based on these plants. For species that are going extinct, there must be recovery plans. We haven’t done much on this.”

Looking at the pattern of distribution of palms and where they are mostly found (in lowland areas), Saw says we need to do conservation at a more dispersed level.

“We cannot just save Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin and think that’s good enough. A high percentage of palms are in small areas in states, so we need each state to initiate conservation to capture these distributions.”

Saw cautions that logging practices must be sustainable and must include protection of threatened species. Continuing research work is crucial, he adds.

“Taxonomy is important as we need to know what we have. Conservation assessments will tell us what is threatened and what is not. It must be systematically done if we are to ensure that plant species do not go extinct. Assessment of threat must be accurate so that proper action plan can be put in place.”

In the meantime, ex-situ conservation is helping to conserve the rare flora. Aside from the Kepong Botanic Gardens, two other places currently grow palm species – Rimba Ilmu in Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Semengoh Botanical Garden, Sarawak. But of course, nothing can beat the presence of palms in the wild.