Forest Biodiversity of Gunung Angsi

The Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia and the Forestry Department Negeri Sembilan organized a scientific expedition to Gunung Angsi Forest Reserves from 2-6 July 2007. More than 120 researchers and their students and field assistants from local universities, research institutes, NGOs, including officers from government departments participated in it. The expedition areas covered include Ulu Bendul Recreational Forest and Gunung Berembun Forest Reserve. The locality of the expedition represents a lowland dipterocarp forests and possibly a low hill dipterocarp forests with its highest point Gunung Angsi. The area has been visited by many naturalists and biologists alike. Geologically it is quite interesting and in the vicinity there are many evidences of megaliths.
Many significant findings on the flora and fauna were made during the 5-day expedition which was highlighted at the seminar at Klana Resort, Seremban on 4-6 May 2008. At the seminar more than 30 scientific papers on the management of forest reserves, physical environment (geology and water quality) and biodiversity were presented. One of the most significant discoveries was that of a new record of the magnificient Johannesteijsmannia lanceolata (Palmae) on Gunung Angsi. In Malaysia there are only four species of the this beautiful genus; J. altifrons is the most common and distributed throughout Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak including Sumatera and South Thailand, J. perakensis is a peninsular endemic species and is only know from Perak and Kedah, J. magnifica only from Selangor and Negeri Sembilan and J. lanceolata is previously known only from Ulu Langat, Selangor and Pahang. It is a species whose habit is solitary and stemless, with leaves large about 50 cm long but narrow and lanceolate. The inflorescences are fewer and have sparse branches and the flowers have broad, papillate petals; the fruits are 3.4 cm in diamtere with short warts.
The species was first discovered at Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve in 1968 in Ulu Semenyih, Selangor and described by Dr. John Dransfield in 1972. This type locality has since been submerged by a dam. The Pahang population was observed in 1923 at Ulu Sungai Tekal Besar near Temerloh but was believed to be destroyed by deforestation. According to Lim (2000) this is the rarest of the four species. However, En. Shamsul Khamis, a graduate student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia believed he observed another population at Kanoboi Forest Reserves but yet to be confirmed.
Its discovery at Gunung Angsi has two scientific significance. Firstly, it extends the geographical distribution of the species from Temerloh, Pahang, Ulu Langat, Selangor to Negeri Sembilan, and secondly, it proved an that the species occurs in only in Ulu Langat until now. This makes the Gunung Angsi area and also Kanoboi Forest Reserves a very high conservation forest area in Negeri Sembilan for biodiversity of the genus and also the flora on the whole. This rare species is highly sought by palm fanciers as a prized ornamental plant.




Figure 1. The habit of J. lanceolata at Gunung Angsi