The Sapotaceae of Indonesia and the Potential Role of Botanic Gardens in their Conservation

Abstract

Indonesia holds a large percentage of Malesian Sapotaceae taxa with an estimated 15 genera and 158 species. Bogor Botanic Gardens currently hold 12 genera and 41 species of which 29 are native to Indonesia. This represents just under 20% of Sapotaceae species currently recorded from Indonesia. The utility of these collections is dependent on the type of data associated with them and on the quality of identification of the material. Of the 29 native species only three have had a global threat assessment made and, of these, one, Madhuca boerlageana (Burck) Baehni, is considered Critically Endangered. The regional botanic gardens initiative of the Indonesian government is establishing botanic gardens in each of the 47 ecoregions of Indonesia. This new initiative is potentially very important for in situ and ex situ conservation of the Indonesian flora. So far it has brought into cultivation 39 threatened species, however none of these are Sapotaceae. The lack of global IUCN threat data is a major impediment to the prioritisation of collection, cultivation and conservation of Sapotaceae species.