Orchids of Sarawak

Orchids are among the most enchanting and beautiful of the floral components of Sarawak. Since the pioneering studies into orchids of the 19th century, more than 7000 permanently preserved specimens have accumulated in the world’s herbaria. These represent over 1000 species in 120 genera, and provide the basis for enumerating all presently known orchid species occurring naturally in the state. Although many orchid collections are now available for Sarawak, the orchid flora of the state still cannot be considered well known, particularly because 306 fully determined taxa have been collected only once; only 51 taxa are represented by more than 15 collections. About 82% of the species are epiphytic and 21% terrestrial (some species are both epiphytic and terrestrial). Among the taxa included in the enumeration are 127 known only from Sarawak; 302 additional taxa have been found only in Borneo. Application of the IUCN Red List categories and criteria for orchids known only from Sarawak resulted in the classification of 74 taxa as critically endangered, 39 as endangered, and 13 as vulnerable.