BIODIVERSITAS
ISSN: 1412-033X (printed edition)
Volume 12, Number 1, January 2011 ISSN: 2085-4722 (electronic)
Pages: 22-27 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d120105
Epiphytic orchids and host trees diversity at Gunung Manyutan Forest
Reserve, Wilis Mountain, Ponorogo, East Java
NINA DWI YULIA
♥
, SUGENG BUDIHARTA
Purwodadi Botanic Garden-Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). Jl. Raya Surabaya-Malang Km. 65, Purwodadi, Pasuruan 67163, East Java,
Indonesia. Tel.: +62 341 426046; Fax.: +62 341 426046;
♥
e-mail: ndyulia@yahoo.com
Manuscript received: 1 July 2010. Revision accepted: 1 September 2010.
ABSTRACT
Yulia ND, Budiharta S (2011) Epiphytic orchids and host trees diversity at Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve, Wilis Mountain,
Ponorogo, East Java. Biodiversitas 12: 22-27. Natural forests in Wilis Mountain have been destroyed by forest fires, landslides and
illegal logging. As a consequence, biological diversity in this area is threatened by local extinctions, particularly of orchid species. This
study was aimed to explore, document and analyze the diversity of epiphytic orchids at Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve, a natural
forest area in Wilis Mountain. Purposive sampling on 1 hectare (50 x 200 m
2
) contiguous plot was used. This plot was divided into
eight subplots (25 x 50 m
2
). All data on orchid species were recorded including its number, host trees and zone of the host tree where the
orchid attached. The results showed that there were 29 epiphytic orchid species recorded. Flickingeria angulata was the most abundant
species (Relative Abundance of orchids/ %Fo = 38.74), continued by Appendicula sp. (%Fo = 10.91) and Eria hyacinthoides (%Fo =
6.57). The three most important host trees were Pinus merkusii, Schima wallichii and Engelhardia spicata. Zone 3 (bottom part of the
branches) was revealed as the most favorable part at the host tree (281 individuals), while Zone 1 (bottom part of the main stem) was the
least preferable one.
Key words: diversity, epiphytic orchid, Flickingeria angulata, host tree, Wilis Mountain.
INTRODUCTION
The orchid arguably gets more attention than any other
kind of plant because of its unique shape and variety of
colors of its flowers. According to Puspitaningtyas (2005),
even though orchids are not heavily used for basic human
needs they are commonly cultivated as ornamental plants,
thus awareness arises about their extinction due to the
accelerating rate of destruction as their natural forest
habitats. Epiphytic vascular plants, including epiphytic
orchids, are major components in tropical wet forests in
terms of diversity and biomass (Gravendeel et al. 2004;
Cardelus and Mack 2010).
One of orchids’ natural habitats in Java which has not
been explored so far is Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve
in Wilis Mountain. Previous study revealed that the
diversity of medicinal plants in Wilis Mountain was very
high, totaling 61 species in the eastern part of Wilis slope at
Purut, Parang Village, District of Kediri (Tyas et al. 1999).
However, there is no accurate information on orchid
diversity of the area. Nowadays, the natural forest in Wilis
Mountain is destroyed by various causes including forest
fires, landslides and illegal logging. Inevitably, these
processes have threatened biological diversity of the area,
and particularly orchid species, which are further
threatened by illegal harvesting (Perhutani’s forest rangers,
pers. comm.). This local decline in orchid diversity and
abundance in Wilis is being repeated in many protected
areas throughout Java (Puspitaningtyas 2005, 2007).
Therefore, data and information gathering on the
occurrence of orchids in their natural habitats is urgently
required in order to develop potential conservation
strategies. This effort is important considering the fact that
in Java, large expanses of natural forest have been
converted into human settlements, agricultural lands and
plantations, which can lead to local population extinction
of orchids. The impacts of such land conversion will be
exaggerated if extinction occurs before species can be
described and documented. Comber (1990) mentioned that
there are 731 orchid species recorded in Java; with 390
among them are recorded in East Java.
This study aims at documenting and analyzing the
diversity and abundance of epiphytic orchids at Gunung
Manyutan Forest Reserve. This was achieved by
conducting a fieldwork in order to record all data on orchid
in the area. Orchids diversity and abundances were
calculated in order to reveal the most important orchid
species. Local forest rangers reported that the studied area
is rich in epiphytic orchids species particularly from the
genus Vanda (Perhutani’s forest rangers, pers. comm.). This
was used as baseline information in conducting this research.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study site
This study was conducted from 26 April to 3 May 2010
at Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve, Wilis Mountain
YULIA & BUDIHARTA – Orchid diversity and its host tree in Wilis Mountain
23
(7º46.751’ S; 111º39.637’ E) (Figure 1). This area is
administratively located at Pupus Village, Sub-district of
Ngebel, District of Ponorogo, East Java and managed by
Kesatuan Pemangkuan Hutan (Sub-forest District) Wilis
Barat under Perum Perhutani (State Owned Forest
Company).
Sampling
We used purposive sampling at site with the richest
orchid’s diversity based on information from forest rangers.
At this site, which was located in the forest interior, we
established a 50 x 200 m
2
(1 ha) plot. Within this plot we
created eight subplots (25 x 50 m
2
) contiguously (Muñoz et
al. 2003). All epiphytic orchid species attached to trees
within the subplots were recorded. Various data were also
collected including the species name of host tree and the
zone on the tree where the orchid attached. Epiphyte
position on the host tree was divided into five zones based
on Dressler (1990), which are: (i) Zone 1: the bottom part
(1/3) of the main stem; (ii) Zone 2: the upper part (2/3) of
the main stem; (iii) Zone 3: the bottom part of the
branches; (iv) Zone 4: the middle part of the branches; and
(v) Zone 5: the outer part of the branches. Environmental
data were also recorded including temperature, humidity
and elevation.
Data analysis
All data were recorded in a spreadsheet, and the
following parameters were calculated: Nt is the number of
trees in the plot hosting a particular orchid species; No is
the number of individuals of a particular orchid species
within the plot. Based on these two parameters, Relative
Frequency of host tree (%Ft) and Relative Abundance of
orchid (%Fo) were computed as below:
%Ft =
100×
treeshostallofnumberTotal
Nt
%Fo =
100×
orchidsallofnumberTotal
No
Orchids were identified to species level if possible, and
the genus level otherwise using the books by Comber
(1990, 2001) as references.
Figure 1. Location of study site at Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve, in Wilis Mountain (dashed circle), and some of orchid species at
this area: (A) Eria flavescens, (B) Coelogyne longifolia, (C) Coelogyne speciosa, (D) Dendrobium linearifolium and Flickingeria
angulata.
C
D
A
B
Madiun
Pacitan
Wonogiri
E
Trenggalek
BIODIVERSITAS
12 (1): 22-27, January 2011
24
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results showed that of eight subplots of 25 x 50 m
2
at Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve, there were 29
epiphytic orchid species belonging to 14 genera recorded.
The most abundant species in the area were Flickingeria
angulata (RA = 38.74%), Appendicula sp. (RA = 10.91%)
and Eria hyacinthoides (RA = 6.57%) (Table 1). These
three are very abundant in Java and found mostly at
elevations between 500 and 1500 m asl.
Table 1. List of epiphytic orchid species at the study site and the
value of parameters (Nt is the number of trees in the plot hosting a
particular orchid species; No is the number of individuals of a
particular orchid species within the plot; %Ft is Relative
Frequency of host tree; %Fo is Relative Abundance of orchid)
Orchid species Nt No %Ft %Fo
Agrostophyllum majus 1 1 0.53 0.14
Agrostophyllum sp. 1 1 0.53 0.14
Appendicula sp. 20 78 10.53 10.91
Bulbophyllum sp. 9 30 4.74 4.20
Bulbophyllum sp.3 3 21 1.58 2.94
Bulbophyllum sp.4 3 16 1.58 2.24
Coelogyne longifolia 2 2 1.05 0.28
Coelogyne speciosa 1 2 0.53 0.28
Dendrobium linearifolium 1 1 0.53 0.14
Dendrobium sp. 3 10 1.58 1.40
Dendrochilum sp. 5 8 2.63 1.12
Eria flavescens 5 13 2.63 1.82
Eria hyacinthoides 9 47 4.74 6.57
Eria javanica 3 5 1.58 0.70
Eria moluccana 6 9 3.16 1.26
Eria monostachya 12 37 6.32 5.17
Eria oblitterata 1 1 0.53 0.14
Eria sp. 13 37 6.84 5.17
Flickingeria angulata 46 277 24.21 38.74
Flickingeria sp. 3 19 1.58 2.66
Liparis condylobulbon 5 9 2.63 1.26
Liparis sp. 2 7 1.05 0.98
Luisia zollingeri 4 7 2.11 0.98
Trichoglottis sp. 1 2 0.53 0.28
Thrixspermum sp. 10 21 5.26 2.94
Thrixspermum subulatum 3 13 1.58 1.82
Trichotosia angulata 1 1 0.53 0.14
Vanda limbata 1 1 0.53 0.14
Vanda tricolor 16 39 8.42 5.45
190 715 100 100
The dominance of F. angulata over other epiphytic
orchids is also recorded at Penanggungan Mountain in East
Java (Yulia and Yanti 2010). Lugrayasa et al. (2004) noted
that F. angulata is at most abundant on the slope of
mountains with altitude of ca. 500 m asl. and humidity 89-
92%. All orchid species recorded at the study site (Table 1)
are known as euryecious orchids (kind of orchid that is
usually adaptable to various types of environment and has
wide-ranging geographic distribution), and therefore not
classified as endemics. Puspitaningtyas et al. (2003)
mentioned that in general, orchid diversity is highest at
altitudes 500 and 1500 m asl. and tends to decrease out of
this range. The high level of Eria diversity is presumably
related to relatively low temperature (28
o
-30
o
C during the
day) and middle range humidity (60-80%). Most Eria
species were recorded at altitudes between 500 and 2500 m
asl (Mahyar and Sadili 2003).
Preliminary communication indicated that Vanda
tricolor was abundant at Gunung Manyutan Forest Reserve
(Perhutani’s forest rangers, pers. comm.). However, we
only find V. tricolor at four plots with a total of 39
individuals, much fewer than F. angulata (277 individuals).
The low abundance of V. tricolor is presumably caused
either by illegal exploitation by outsiders or gathering by
local communities to be planted at their home gardens. The
survival of epiphytic orchids depends on its host trees. In
this study, 13 species of host trees were recorded, with 91
individuals (Table 2). The most important host trees were
Pinus merkusii (24 individuals), Schima wallichii and
Engelhardia spicata (19 individuals each).
Table 2. Environmental conditions at Gunung Manyutan Forest
Reserve
Environmental data Value
Air temperature (during day) 28
o
-30
o
C
Relative humidity 60-80%
Elevation 1300-1413 m asl
All host trees recorded are mountain specialist species
and characterized by rough bark that made them favorable
by orchids for root attachment. This fact is in line with
Flores-Palacios and Ortiz-Pulido (2005) that epiphytic
orchids are likely to attach to host trees with rough bark
rather than smooth one. In addition, the typical peeling
bark with cracked and soft texture apparently catches more
water and nutrients than the smooth bark. Therefore, orchid
seeds lodged in the crevices of bark more readily grow
because of the available substrate necessary for the growth
of seeds. However, the result of Bergstrom and Carter
(2008) suggests that the structure of the bark is not the
most important factor to the occurrence of epiphytic orchid
since they found a host tree with smooth and relatively thin
bark that preferred by a particular orchid. Also, due to the
canopy structure of the host trees, which is not too dense,
sunlight is allowed to penetrate to the part the tree where
orchids grow. According to Seitske et al. (2001), epiphytic
orchids in Indonesia are rarely found on trees with dense
canopy since sunlight is hindered to go through.
Epiphytic orchids are not positioned randomly on all
parts of the host. Dressler (1990) divides the part of host
tree where the epiphytic orchid grows into five zones. The
occurrence of orchids at each zone depends on its
requirements for light and nutrients. Naturally, most
orchids tend to grow at the particular part of the host tree
that optimizes their resource acquisition. This study
YULIA & BUDIHARTA – Orchid diversity and its host tree in Wilis Mountain
25
showed that epiphytic orchids were found mostly at Zone 3
(281 individuals), followed by Zone 4 (201 individuals)
(Figure 2). In contrast, Zone 1 and Zone 5 were disfavored
by orchids, in that only 17 and 52 individuals were attached
at these zones, respectively (Table 3).
Figure 2. Number of epiphytic orchids at each zone of host tree
(Zone 1: the bottom part (1/3) of the main stem; Zone 2: the
upper part (2/3) of the main stem; Zone 3: the bottom part of the
branches; Zone 4: the middle part of the branches; Zone 5: the
outer part of the branches)
There are some environmental factors important for
orchids to grow, such as light, temperature, wind speed and
water availability (Parnata 2005). The distributional
patterns of epiphytic orchids on the stems and branches of
host trees are influenced by the needs of sunlight and
humidity that make epiphytic orchids favor specific zones
(Yulia and Yanti 2010). In addition, O’Malley (2009)
stated that branch height and position on host tree highly
correlate with substrate availability. In this study, Zone 3,
which is located at the bottom part of the branches, is the
most favorable zone for epiphytic orchids to grow. This is
presumably in relation with the structure of Zone 3, which
allows seeds to be trapped easily and then nourished with
light, water and nutrients. In contrast, there were small
numbers of orchids recorded at Zone 1. The rationale is
that at this zone, light intensity is very low. Puspitaningtyas
and Fatimah (1999) mentioned that orchids grew at Zone 3,
Zone 4 and Zone 5 are those that favor plenty of sunlight.
However, the individual state of the host tree also
influences the occurrence of epiphytic orchids in terms of
creating appropriate conditions such as light intensity,
aeration and humidity (Zotz and Hietz 2001).
Table 3 suggests that epiphytic orchid at Gunung
Manyutan Forest Reserve may attach to more than one host
tree, implying either orchid or host tree listed in Table 4
above are generalist species. A study on specific
associations between host trees and epiphytic orchids in
Meru Betiri National Park (Puspitaningtyas 2007) also
stated a similar conclusion with our study. A study on the
relationship between epiphytic orchids and host trees in
sub-tropical forest in Taiwan also showed that generalist
orchid species tend to grow on various host tree with no
specific association with a particular tree species (Martin et
al. 2007). Also in Panamanian lowland forest, the
relationship between host tree and epiphytic vascular plants
is random without any host specificity (Laube and Zotz
2006). However, the occurrence of some particular
epiphytic orchids is highly associated with the occurrence
of particular host tree, showing strong preferences of an
orchid to a host tree species such as Epidendrum magnoliae
with Quercus virginiana (Bergstrom and Carter 2008), and
Dendrobium capra with Tectona grandis (Yulia and
Ruseani 2008).
CONCLUSION
Epiphytic orchid diversity and
abundance at Gunung Manyutan
Forest Reserve in Wilis Mountain is
relatively high. Within one hectare
contiguous area, there were 29
epiphytic orchid species (totally 715
individuals) recorded. The most
abundant orchid species were
Flickingeria angulata, followed by
Appendicula sp. and Eria
hyacinthoides. In addition, there were
13 host tree species recorded, with
three most important host species
being Pinus merkusii, Schima
wallichii and Engelhardia spicata.
Zone 3 (bottom part of the branches)
was noted as the most preferred zone
on host trees to be attached by
epiphytic orchid species, while Zone
1 (bottom part of the main stem) was
the least preferred.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5
Zone
Number of individual
Table 3. List of host tree species recorded and numbers of individuals at each plot
Species of host tree
SP
1
SP
2
SP
3
SP
4
SP
5
SP
6
SP
7
SP
8
Total number
of individual
Lithocarpus sp. 2 3 5
Schima wallichii 3 13 1 2 19
Pinus merkusii 4 4 7 1 8 24
Engelhardia spicata 1 2 2 8 6 19
Callophyllum sp. 1 1
Lithocarpus teysmannii 4 1 1 1 7
Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 4 3 8
Proteacea 3 3
Nauclea sp. 1 1
Eudia sp. 1 1
Litsea sp. 1 1
Bridelia sp. 1 1
Tree stump 1 1
Sum 6 18 8 9 8 11 19 12 91
BIODIVERSITAS
12 (1): 22-27, January 2011
26
Table 4. Recapitulation of orchid species at each zone of host tree
Number of orchids at each zone
Species of orchid Species of host tree F host tree
1 2 3 4 5
Total number
Flickingeria angulata Lithocarpus sp. 5 13 19 27 59
Schima wallichii 12 14 33 15 62
Pinus merkusii 20 57 40 5 102
Lithocarpus teysmannii 4 8 22 8 38
Lithocarpus sundaicus 4 1 7 7 15
Engelhardia spicata 1 1 1
Vanda tricolor Lithocarpus sp. 1 2 2
Engelhardia spicata 10 1 3 6 9 5 24
Lithocarpus sundaicus 3 3 2 6 1 12
Proteaceae 1 0
Bridelia sp. 1 1 1
Eria mononstacya Lithocarpus sp. 3 4 4
Schima wallichii 2 5 3 8
Pinus merkusii 2 1 3 4
Lithocarpus teysmannii 2 6 6
Engelhardia spicata 2 1 6 5 12
Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 3 3
Eria moluccana Lithocarpus sp. 1 1 1
Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 1 1
Schima wallichii 1 1 1
Pinus merkusii 2 2 2
Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 4 4
Eria sp. Lithocarpus sp. 1 1 1
Schima wallichii 1 4 4
Lithocarpus teysmannii 3 1 7 8
Nauclea sp. 1 2 2
Lithocarpus sundaicus 3 1 4 5
Engelhardia spicata 4 9 3 5 17
Eria javanica Lithocarpus sp. 1 3 3
Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 1 1
Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 1 1
Thrixspermum sp. Lithocarpus sp. 1 2 2
Schima wallichii 6 6 6 3 15
Engelhardia spicata 2 1 2 3
Calophyllum sp. 1 1 1
Thrixspermum subulatum Calophyllum sp. 1 2 2
Schima wallichii 1 9 9
Engelhardia spicata 1 2 2
Coelogyne speciosa Lithocarpus
sp. 1 2 2
Appendicula sp. Schima wallichii 3 4 3 7
Engelhardia spicata 11 1 27 11 13 52
Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 1 1
Lithocarpus sundaicus 2 6 7 13
Eudia sp. 1 2 2
Litsea sp. 1 1 1
Bridelia sp. 1 2 2
Agrostophyllum majus Pinus merkusii 1 1 1
Bulbophyllum sp. Lithocarpus teysmannii 3 5 9 4 18
Lithocarpus sundaicus 3 2 6 8
Engelhardia spicata 2 1 1 2
Eudia sp. 1 2 2
Dendrobium sp. Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 1 1
Lithocarpus sundaicus 2 5 3 1 9
Dendrochilum sp. Lithocarpus sundaicus 3 2 3 5
Pinus merkusii 2 3 3
Flickingeria sp. Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 4 4
Lithocarpus sundaicus 2 15 15
Luisia zollingeri Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 1 1
Engelhardia spicata 3 1 1 4 6
Vanda limbata Tree stump 1 1 1
Bulbophyllum sp.4 Proteaceae 1 10 10
Lithocarpus sundaicus 2 3 3 6
Eria flavescens Proteaceae 1 1 1
Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 2 2
Engelhardia spicata 3 1 5 4 10
Eria hyacinthoides Lithocarpus sundaicus 4 5 7 8 3 23
Engelhardia spicata 4 3 4 15 22
Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 2 2
Bulbophyllum sp.3 Lithocarpus sundaicus 2 10 10
Engelhardia spicata 1 10 1 11
Eria oblitterata Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 1 1
Liparis condylobulbon Lithocarpus sundaicus 2 1 2 3
Engelhardia spicata 2 1 1 1 3
Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 3 3
Liparis sp. Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 3 2 5
Lithocarpus teysmannii 1 2 2
Agrostophyllum sp. Engelhardia spicata 1 1 1
Coelogyne longifolia Lithocarpus sundaicus 1 1 1
Bridelia sp. 1 1 1
Trichoglottis sp. Engelhardia spicata 1 2 2
Trichotosia annulata Engelhardia spicata 1 1 1
Dendrobium linearifolium Engelhardia spicata 1 1 1
Sum of individual 17 164 281 201 52 715