Species diversity of Selaginella in the Dieng Plateau, Central Java

Abstract

Setyawan AD, Sugiyarto, Widiastuti A. 2015. Species diversity of Selaginella in the Dieng Plateau, Central Java. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 1: 980-986. Selaginella is a herbaceous plant species that requires a lot of water for growth and fertilization. Therefore, moist and cool habitats are preferred for the cultivation of Selaginella. Dieng Plateau is one of the regions having the highest rainfall in Java. This region is very suitable for the growth of Selaginella due to its moistness. This research was conducted in Dieng Plateau from an altitude of 300 m. up to 2500 m. asl. The field study was conducted from mid of 2007 until the end of 2013. In addition to field study, an observation view of herbarium sheets which are the collection of the Herbarium Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Cibinong Bogor. Eight species of Selaginella were found, namely: S. aristata, S. ciliaris, S. intermedia, S. involvens, S. opaca, S. ornata, S. plana, and S. remotifolia. Variant of S. ciliarnis that form a compact set was found, the size of the stems and leaves was slimmer and more tapered at the leaf tip. This variant is probably a new species because the species with these characteristics has not been reported. The morphological characteristics of this species are mostly close to S. ciliaris.