1. Yesterday Datuk Seri C K Lim borrowed me the latest copy of Gardens' Bulletin Singapore - A commemorative volume of the 150th Anniversary of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I didn't realise that Singapore Botanic Gardens is 150 years old now, and remains one of the best botanic gardens in our region. The cover was colourful and the articles inside were excellent.
2. Dr. George Argent reported new species of Rhododendron; Prof. P. S. Ashton on new species of Syzygium and Tristaniopsis; Dr. Barcelona et al. reported a new species of Rafflesia; Hughes et al. on new Begonia; Prof. Iwatsuki et al. on new Fissidens; Prof. Kato & Koi on new species of Podostemonaceae; Dr. R. Kiew on new species of Gesneriaceae; Lee et al. on new species of Nepenthes; Dr. Ian Turner on new species of Alphonsea; Suksathan & Triboun on new species of Impatiens; etc. When I finished reading them my feeling was ...wow ...there are still many new taxa lurking in the wild waiting to be collected, decribed and named.
3. What struck me is Rafflesia aurantia from Luzon. I remembered Mr. Co one of the the co-authors showed me the picture of it during the Flora Malesiana Symposium in Manila years ago but the late Prof. Kamaruddin Mat Salleh (KMS), one of the specialists of the genus dismissed it as R. tengku-adlinii. I argued with him how could the Sabah species get dispersed to Luzon or vice versa and furthermore most Rafflesia species have limited range of distribution due to its biology - small population, pollination and seed dispersal. Now justice is done to that species, and the late Prof. KMS is not around to witness it. I also remembered urging Mr. Co to name and publish it.
4. The articles on the deep taxonomy of Gardenia tubifera complex by Low and Prof. K. M. Wong is an excellent example of what taxonomy is all about when comes to species complex. Also the article by Dr. Ian Turner & Dr. Jef Veldkamp on the taxonomic history of Cananga is a must read for students of taxonomy and taxonomists in SEAsia.
5. As a botanist I sincerely feel many of us have not done much justice to our taxonomy for many various and obvious reasons. After all the last count of active taxonomists in Malaysia is not more than 30, though there are many young and budding ones around. I honestly believe the scenario would be different in 10 years time. Speaking for myself, just before I retired in June 2004 I had promised myself to devote much more time and energy to taxonomy and finish my treatment of Vitaceae for Flora Malesiana. More than 5 years gone now and I am not able to do what I had promised, probably I may not be able to realise that at all.
6. What is lacking in this commemorative volume are the contributions from the Singaporeans themselves, after all this is the commemorative volume of Singapore Botanic Gardens, except for the reviews. The neighbours of Singapore had contributed significantly.
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