This is the first book about the the orchids of Sulawesi. over 100 years ago J.J. Smith published Die Orchideen von Ambon, and since then much has been written about the orchids of Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea, but until now, nothing on Sulawesi. This has been an omission as Sulawesi is where three totally different regions meet, mingle and interact. Sulawesi is unique as is many of its orchids.
Bulbophyllum, with approximately 1900–2000 species, is the largest orchid genus in the world. Although it can be found in tropical America and Africa, the majority of the species occur in S.E. Asia, and it is only here that the genus shows the full range of its diversity. This publication is a revision of the 123 species and 4 subspecies of Bulbophyllum that are found in Sulawesi. It contains descriptions of all 127 taxa, and illustrates the majority of them with colour photographs, line drawings, or both.
The book is organised into sections according to the latest developments in orchid taxonomy; 24 Bulbophyllum sections are represented in Sulawesi. Keys to the sections and species are provided. There is a chapter on the biogeography of Sulawesi (which helps explain why the island is so unique) and chapters dealing with the island's forests and orchid habitats.
Unlike many orchid books which are dependent on recycling old material, Bulbophyllum of Sulawesi is the product of original research and fieldwork. This is how 60 of the species in this book (an astonishingly high 47% of the total) came to be discovered during the course of this investigation.
