A Pocket Guide: Gingers of Sarawak

Sarawak is one of the most exciting place to study the richness of plant life and home to more than 150 gingers, the majority of which are found only in Borneo. Several species are useful as food, spice, medicine, ornamentals or other purposes. At the same time the ginger family is poorly studied by botanists, and many more species still remain to be discovered in the forests of Sarawak.

This pocket guide provides a wealth of information including colour photographs of some the most stunning or typical ginger species in Sarawak. All 18 ginger genera known from Sarawak are examplified by at least one species. The meaning of the scientific plant names are explained and also local names are included. Each of the 64 selected species are described briefly and notes are added on their ecology, uses or history. This pocket guide also presents a checklist of the 150 species currently known in Sarawak and an overview of the literature for their identification.

The booklet will be of interest to plant lovers, botany and forestry students, horticulturists, eco-tourists, staff in national parks and nature guides, as well as people interest in natural resources of Borneo.

Author(s): Axel Dalberg Poulsen

Axel Dalberg Poulsen was born in the Kingdom of Denmark in 1961 and obtained his PhD degree from the University of Aarhus in 1993. Since then he has been associated with universities or botanic gardens in Denmark, Malaysia, The Netherlands and Scotland as lecturer or researcher. He has more than 15 years’ experience in tropical botany, especially from Borneo and lived for a few years in Sabah but has also carried out other Asian fieldwork in Indonesia, Thailand and Papua New Guinea. He has also worked on gingers in S. America and Africa and has made revisions, including the descriptions of several new species. Presently, he is conducting a project on the Asian ginger genus Etlingera including aspects of molecular systematics, evolution, geographical distribution, ecology, and uses. In addition to natural history, he enjoys photography, painting watercolours and cooking, especially during survival trips to remote areas of Denmark or other countries.

Homepage: www.dalbergpoulsen.com

Publisher: Natural History Publications (Borneo) in association with Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

First Published: 2006

No. of Pages: vi + 102 pp.

Size: 11.5 x 17 cm (Softcover)

ISBN: 983-812-112-6

Cover: SB

Price: US $10.00

Weight: 200g

Quantity: