Diversity and ecology of araceae in the water catchment area of Ulu Sat, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Araceae or aroid is familiarly known as keladi to the locals. The purpose of this study is to assess the diversity and ecology of Araceae in the Water Catchment Area of Ulu Sat, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. The random sampling method was applied. A total of 26 species from 13 genera of Araceae were recorded from the water catchment area of Ulu Sat, Machang, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. This represents about 18.6% out of an estimated 140 species and 46.2% of the 28 genera of Araceae reported for Peninsular Malaysia. The result also shows that 24 species or 92.3% of the collection are the common Araceae species found in lowland dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. However, the collection include the species recently recorded, Aglaonema cochinchinense Engl. and the endemic species, Alocasia puber (Hassk.) Schott for Peninsular Malaysia. The paper will also discuss the distribution and ecology of some important Araceae collected from this area.

Short communication: Diversity and ethnobotany of Araceae in Namo Suro Baru Village, North Sumatra, Indonesia

“…Araceae is the most diverse family in morphology, life forms, habitat preferences, growth patterns, phenology, and adaptive modification for effective pollination (Zulhazman et al 2021). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List includes most aroids due to their lack of protection and the continual fragmentation of their natural habitat caused by a land scarcity that includes tropical rainforests and other humid forests (Gomez-Murillo and Cuartas-Hernandez 2016).…”