A Guide to Gingers of Borneo
By Anthony Lamb, Januarius Gobilik, Marlina Ardiyani & Alex Dalberg Poulsen – (2013)
144 pages; gloss art paper, with 245 colour photographs & 1 map.
Soft Cover: 21.5cm x 15.2cm.
ISBN: 978-983-812-146-0
Natural History Publications (Borneo) Kota Kinabalu
The gingers are among the most popular plant groups in cultivation and indeed command significant interest by the scientific community. The diversity in plant habit and the regime of flower colour and their structure is quite diverse and Borneo is one of the hot spots of ginger diversity. On the island of Borneo, currently there are some 250 recognized species in 19 genera with many of the species endemic including 4 of the genera, and no doubt further new undescribed species on the island await discovery. This excellently illustrated book presents 100 of those species, representing all 19 genera known to the island.
The book covers ancient history, distribution, ecology, forest types, pollination and seed dispersal, a description of each genus that occurs on the island and a checklist of all known species at the time of writing. Of the 100 species included, each has its botanical name, author and the year published, a physical description, distribution both local and globally and closing with a variety of miscellaneous notes on habitat, taxonomy, history etc. and of course at least one colour photo although many have 2-4 depicting each species.
No matter where you go in Borneo, you will encounter gingers. Even along the sides of main roads and highways you can see gingers growing and flowering happily away, and they are just a single element among the many that makes this such a special place to visit.
For anyone who has an interest in gingers of South East Asia or the flora of Borneo generally, this beautifully illustrated guide is a must have for your library and its lightweight and compact size makes it an easy companion to accompany any eco trips you may make in Borneo or elsewhere in Asia.
Rod Rice
Principal Reviewer
Nature & Travel Books