Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online - Newsletter subscription page Volume 41/15 2009 Posted: November 24, 2009 Utricularia gibba is an “old” species, among seven Utricularia names described by Linnaeus in 1753. The specific epithet originated from the Latin word gibbus that means a hump, possibly referring to the bi-lobed swelling near the base of the flower lip. Although its yellow flowers resemble that of the common U. aurea, besides being much smaller, it can be easily distinguished in having an upper lip that is always slightly larger and broader than the lower one. It is a truly cosmopolitan species. In the northern hemisphere its range extends into southern Europe, China and Canada, while in the south it can be found as far as New Zealand and Argentina. This ubiquity could explain how it found its way into Linnaeus world famous book —Species Plantarum more than two centuries ago. One might be tempted to think that such a widespread species on a nearworldwide scale is likely to be a noxious weed, which is not at all true as U. gibba is actually more sensitive to water quality than other Ultricularia species, as will be seen later. Taylor, in his 1989 monograph, described the continuous differences he observed in U. gibba populations across the globe as a complex which included more than sixty synonyms from the numerous areas in which it occurs, including U. exolata, the name applied by Ridley and his contemporaries to this then common bladderwort. Ridley (1923) in Flora of Malay Peninsular, and later Spare (1941) in Malayan Nature Journal, reported that U. gibba was “common in ditches”. Recent field observations, however, reveal that this species often occurs only in ditches fringing peat swamp forest, and its niche is soon taken over by the more common U. aurea when the area has been converted into oil palm plantations or other land use. It is not rare in natural swamps, although its free-floating, thread-like stolons and filiform leaves makes it difficult to observe, and may easily be mistaken for a freshwater alga when not in flower. The tell-tale features of a bladderwort, i.e. the traps, are rather few, very minute and usually inconspicuous. Grouped under the Section Utricularia with floating habits by Taylor, this species has a peculiar flowering behaviour. While it is in a free floating state, it will not flower. It only flowers if the vegetative parts are growing on muddy substrate covered in water that is merely a few cm deep, or when growing as an “epiphyte” on submerged logs close to the water surface, or when growing on “floating islands” of rotting vegetation matter file:////192.168.0.4/tfbc/Subscribe41.html (1 of 2) [11/26/2009 4:52:27 PM] Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online - Newsletter subscription page detached from the edge of the swamp. Flowering is often fairly profuse, as the above described conditions are usually extremely ephemeral. The dorsi-ventrally flattened, winged seeds are less than 1 mm in diameter. They are likely to be dispersed by migratory waders, hitching a ride by sticking to the muddy feet of these long-distance commuters when the tired birds visit the edges of swamps looking for food to “re-fuel” themselves. This phenomenon, which has been documented by Ridley in his book “Plant Dispersal throughout the World”, simply and adequately explains the near-worldwide occurrence of the species. By Chew Ming Yee e- m ail: chew@frim .gov.m y Membership: 770 Plant profiles: 8893 Photo-illustrated taxa: 1820 Full-sized, high-resolution formats of all photo-illustrations in Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online may be licensed from the Tropical Forest Biodiversity Centre, Forest Research Institute Malaysia. Please contact us for details; Remember that you can save your hit list as a Microsoft Excel File; Upon registration, you will receive the Electronic FPM newsletter at your designated e-mail address. To submit questions, comments or suggestions, e-mail: floraonline@frim.gov.my Tropical Forest Biodiversit y Cent re Forest Biodiversit y Division, Forest Research I nst it ut e Malaysia ( FRI M) 52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MALAYSI A. ht t p: / / www.t fbc.frim .gov.m y Tel: + 60- 3- 6279 7219 Fax: + 60- 3- 6273 1041 E- m ail: floraonline@frim .gov.m y All rights reserved. Copyright©2004 file:////192.168.0.4/tfbc/Subscribe41.html (2 of 2) [11/26/2009 4:52:27 PM] Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online - Newsletter subscription page Volume 42/16 2009 Posted: November 26, 2009 Kekabu hutan is the common name for Bombax species of the family Bombacaceae. B. anceps was named from Latin anceps, meaning twoedged and it is a small tree to 15 m tall. The bole is straight and closely set with big flattened spines arranged in rows. The bark surface is shallowly fissured and whitish to pale brownish-grey while the inner bark is soft and fibrous and red to orange in colour with slight cream and reddish flames. The tree crown is flat. The leaves are arranged spirally and are palmately compound with 5–9 leaflets that are elliptic to narrowly obovate, measuring about 6.25×2.25 – 12.5×4.5 cm and glabrous on upper and lower surfaces. The flowers are about 7.5 cm long; calyx cup-shaped, turning dark brown to brownish black when dry; stamen numerous, stamen tube about 1.5–2.5 cm long; ovary finely hairy. The fruit of B. anceps is a large woody capsule splitting into 5 parts, about 15 cm long, light green when young and turning brownish black when mature. The inner walls of the capsule are covered with cottony hairs while the seeds are embedded in dense woolly hairs. Bombax anceps is distributed in Peninsular Malaysia (Langkawi and Penang), Indo-China, Myanmar and Thailand. It grows close to the sea in rocky areas, usually on limestone. In Peninsular Malaysia, the tree flowers between November and February. In the Malesian region and in Thailand, the cotton from B. anceps is used for stuffing mattresses and pillows while the wood is used for making toys and indoor furniture. References: 1. Kochummen, K.M. (1972). Bombacaceae. Tree Flora of Malaya 1: 100–120. 2. Phengklai, C. (2005). Bombacaceae. Flora of Thailand 9(1): 10–32. 3. Robyns, A.G. (1963). Essai de Monographie du Genre Bombax s.l. (Bombacaceae). Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de l'État a Bruxelles 33: 1–412. By Nadiah I dris e- m ail: nadiahidris@frim .gov.m y file:////192.168.0.4/tfbc/Subscribe42.html (1 of 2) [11/26/2009 4:52:58 PM] Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online - Newsletter subscription page Edit ed by: Dr. E. Soepadm o e- m ail: soepadm o@frim .gov.m y Membership: 770 Plant profiles: 8893 Photo-illustrated taxa: 1820 Full-sized, high-resolution formats of all photo-illustrations in Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Online may be licensed from the Tropical Forest Biodiversity Centre, Forest Research Institute Malaysia. Please contact us for details; Remember that you can save your hit list as a Microsoft Excel File; Upon registration, you will receive the Electronic FPM newsletter at your designated e-mail address. To submit questions, comments or suggestions, e-mail: floraonline@frim.gov.my Tropical Forest Biodiversit y Cent re Forest Biodiversit y Division, Forest Research I nst it ut e Malaysia ( FRI M) 52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MALAYSI A. ht t p: / / www.t fbc.frim .gov.m y Tel: + 60- 3- 6279 7219 Fax: + 60- 3- 6273 1041 E- m ail: floraonline@frim .gov.m y All rights reserved. Copyright©2004 file:////192.168.0.4/tfbc/Subscribe42.html (2 of 2) [11/26/2009 4:52:58 PM]