SARGENTIA A CONTINUATION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY V FRAGMENTA PAPUANA [OBSERVATIONS OF A NATURALIST IN NETHERLANDS NEW GUINEA] BY H. J. LAM WITH TWO MAPS AND THIRTY-TWO TEXT-FIGURES Translated from the Dutch by LILY M. PERRY PUBLISHED BY THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS., U. S. A. 1945 SARGENTIA A CONTINUATION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY A publication issued at irregular intervals by the Arnold Arbore- tum of Harvard University. Issues can be obtained from the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass., U. S. A. All correspondence pertaining to Sargentia should be addressed to the Librarian. No. I. Fryran Prant Stupies, II. Botanitcat RESULTS OF THE 1940-41 Cruise or THE “CHENG Ho.” By A. C. Smith (and collabo- rators). Pp. 1-148, with five text-figures. July 20, 1942. $2.50. No. II. THe ARaALtaceaz or Coins. By Hui-Lin Li. Pp. 1- 134, with fourteen text-figures. Oct. 26, 1942. $2.25. No. III. A Revision or THE Genus SaBrA CoLEBROOKE. By Luetta Chen, With nine text-figures. Tue CHINESE AND INDO- CHINESE SPECIES OF Ormosia. By E. D. Merrill and Luetta Chen. Pp. 1-120. Jan. 30, 1943. $2.00. No. IV. Marerrats For A Fiora oF THE ConTINENTAL NortH- West TERRITORIES OF Canapa. By A. E. Porsild. Tue Wittows OF THE Hupson Bay REGION AND THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. By Hugh M. Raup. With four plates. Pp. 1-135. Sept. 25, 1943. $2.50. No. V. FracMenta Papuana [OBSERVATIONS OF A NATURALIST IN NETHERLANDS New Guinea]. By H. J. Lam. Pp. 1-196, with two maps and thirty-two text-figures. Translated from the Dutch by Lily M. Perry. Feb. 6, 1945. $3.00. SARGENTIA A CONTINUATION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY V FRAGMENTA PAPUANA [OBSERVATIONS OF A NATURALIST IN NETHERLANDS NEW GUINEA] ine 4 H. J. LAM WITH TWO MAPS AND THIRTY-TWO TEXT-FIGURES Translated from the Dutch by LILY M. PERRY PUBLISHED BY THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS., U. S. A. 1945 SARGENTIA A CONTINUATION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM oF Harvarp UNIversity No. V, pp. i-iv, 1-196, with two maps and thirty-two text-figures Issued February 6, 1945 PRINTED BY THE LANCASTER Press, Inc, LANCASTER, Pa, FOREWORD Up to the beginning of the present century New Guinea, from a botanical standpoint, was largely a terra incognita. While some field work had been done, little intensive exploration had been attempted. This is manifest in Schumann & Lauterbach, Die Flora der Deutschen Schutzgebiete in der Siidsee, 1900, covering the formerly German-controlled part (ISaiser Wilhelms-land), the western half of the Solomons, the Marshalls, Carolines, Palau, Mascarene, and Marianas Islands. They were able to record only 1560 species of vascular cryptogams and flowering plants from the vast area indicated. In the early part of the present century German botanists intensified their work on North- eastern New Guinea, while Australian, British, and Netherlands botanists increased their field activities in their territories. Finally, beginning in 1925, the Arnold Arboretum sponsored various expeditions to Papua, the Solomon Islands, and the New Hebrides. These collections have been greatly aug- mented by the material brought together by Mr. L. J. Brass, botanist on the three Archbold. Expeditions to New Guinea, 1933-34, 1936-37, and 1938-39. On the last expedition Mr. Brass was assisted by Mr. C. Versteegh and Dr. E. Meyer-Drees. Shortly after the close of the Nederlandsch-Indische-Amerikaansche Expedi- tion, 1938-39, in furtherance of our work of identifying New Guinean plants here, Dr. Lily M. Perry began a translation from the original Dutch of Professor H. J. Lam’s Fragmenta Papuana. The latter appeared as a series of articles in the Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indié, 1927-29. Mean- while, the present war spread rapidly and little-known New Guinea fell into enemy hands. Asa concomitant of this war, the necessity for emergency foods has created a great demand for information regarding the poorly known floras of the Southwest Pacific region. Because Professor Lam’s account of his ex- periences and observations on the vegetation of Netherlands New Guinea is very instructive, Dr. Frans Verdoorn, also a staff-member of the Arnold Arbo- retum, suggested that it might be helpful to have the translation published, and he in turn took up the matter with the Board for the Netherlands Indies, Surinam, and Curacao, in New York. This Board not only endorsed his idea but also, through its office in Washington, made a liberal grant to the Arnold Arboretum to assist in covering the cost of publication. For this generous sup- port we are particularly indebted to Dr. P. J. Honig. Normally, permission to publish the translation would have been sought from the author. However, the representatives of the Government of the Netherlands East Indies, through the Board for the Netherlands Indies, Surinam, and Curacao, have not only acted as sponsor by giving us permission to publish the translation, but, as mentioned above, have contributed materi- ally to the actual cost. This authoritative group took the attitude that, through the medium of an English translation, the important data included in Dr. Lam’s account would be more widely available, and through such a publica- tion a real contribution would be made of which the general public could take advantage. Apart from the fact that Professor Lam’s articles present an excel- lent picture of the terrain and its difficulties, as well as suggesting the possibility of subsisting in the lowland, if such necessity should arise, it must not be over- looked that at the same time a great deal of purely botanical information will be available which is now to be found only ina few of our libraries. —E. D. MERRILL. PREFACE THE FRAGMENTA PAPUANA by Professor H. J. Lam is, without doubt, one of the most important botanical publications on Netherlands New Guinea. The series consists of seven articles published as follows: I. Chronological survey of the Mamberamo Exploration in general and of the Expedition to Central New Guinea 1920-1922 in particular, Natuurk. Tijdschr. Nederl.-Ind. 87: 110-130. 1927. II. Some meteorological data collected during the Cen- tral New Guinea Expedition 1920-1921, op. cit. 87: 130-138. 1927. III. Im- pressions of the Lower Mamberamo Territory, op. cit. 87: 139-180, 1927. IV. The Meervlakte and the foothills, op. cit. 88: 187-227. 1928. V. The north slope of the Central Mountain Range, op. cit. 88: 252-324. 1928. VI. Above the forest limits: Doormantop and its vegetation, op. cit. 89: 67-130. 1929. VII. Land and people of the Dika and Toli Valleys, op. cit. 89: 291-380. 1929. Appendix, op. cit. 89: 381-385. 1929. The corrections following the appendix have been inserted in the places indicated. The original is abun- dantly illustrated with 93 figures. It was decided not to reproduce the half- tones, but the majority of the drawings are included in this English version, The tables appended to Fragment VI have not been reproduced, since all the plants listed are discussed in the text. Although the botanical information embodied in these articles was the pri- mary objective of the author, and also ours, | cannot but express something of the pleasure I have derived from. Professor Lam’s delightful pen-pictures of the country. and its inhabitants. The botanical enumerations and descriptions are interspersed with a vivid and living journal covering the year which he spent in New Guinea. The summaries of his impressions, the faithful recording of details, the intuitive appreciation of beauty so well expressed in scenes of nature, and the variety of his observations: all these lend color and interest to this work. On account of the proximity of the regions explored by the van Overeem Expedition, of which Professor Lam was the botanist, and by the Nederlandsch- Indische-Amerikaansche Expedition (Richard Archbold Expedition, 1938-39), it seemed to be desirable, in handling the botanical collections of the latter, to obtain some idea of the content of the Fragmenta Papuana. Hitherto in our work together, Dr. Merrill has given me the benefit of the gist of short Dutch descriptions whenever the need arose; but he is much too busy to take the time to impart to me the content of such comprehensive articles. For this reason, obviously it was necessary for me to learn some of the fundamental principles of the Dutch language. . In this it was my good fortune to receive careful and painstaking instruction from Mrs. J. A. C. Fagginger Auer. She also most graciously supervised about half of the translation. In the remaining parts Dr. Frans Verdoorn has been exceedingly generous and repeatedly helpful in unraveling complex sentences, as well as in explaining various Malayan words and other difficulties. Dr. Merrill has very kindly read the manuscript, and | am indebted to him for many useful criticisms and suggestions. The errors and omissions, of which I hope there are not too many, are mine alone. Lity M. Perry FRAGMENTA PAPUANA!” [OBSERVATIONS OF A NATURALIST IN NETHERLANDS NEW GUINEA] H. J. Lam? with two maps and thirty-two text-figures Translated from the Dutch by Lity M. PERRY Introduction THE ARTICLES which | propose to publish consecutively under the above common title are taken from an extensive and hitherto unpublished manuscript. As botanist, I participated in the first part of the Mamberamo Expedition in New Guinea under the leadership of A. J. A. van Overeem, at that time Captain of the General Staff. Shortly after my return in January 1921, I began to work up my notes, and it was the end of 1924 before I completed the task. Through various and sundry circumstances, however, this work remained un- published. It was late in 1926 before I set eyes on the manuscript again. Since it was written, much has been published on New Guinea and regarding our Mamberamo Expedition. Nevertheless, I think that there is enough of value in these notes to warrant their publication as Fragmenta Papuana. To that end the copy has been revised as necessary, utilizing the published litera- ture to complete it. The first article of the series is of an introductory nature and relates to the history of the Mamberamo Expedition in general and to that of the expedition of 1920-1922 in particular. The second article contains merely meteorological data which I assembled during the expedition. The remaining Fragments, which I hope will follow, relate to the vegetation, and each will consist of studies of the plant formations of the several regions visited, again with accessory small detailed maps, landscape sketches and photographs. Only one article in its principal content touches upon the field of ethnology; for that reason this will be published elsewhere. The first two articles which follow are accompanied by two sketch maps which will be useful not only for Fragments I and II but also for the remaining 1 Natuurk. Tijdschr. Nederl.-Ind. 87: 110-130. 1927. Introduction and Fragment I. 2 (Footnote taken from the Addenda). Ina footnote at the beginning of Fragment V, it was stated that the ‘“‘Indisch Comite voor Wetenschappelijke Onderzoekingen"’ rendered possible the publication of the ‘“‘Fragmenta Papuana”’ in its original illustrated form. Through a regrettable oversight in the introduction to the first part of the Fragmenta, the fact was not mentioned that the Scientific Expedition to Central New Guinea 1920-1922 was organized and equipped by that Committee, the chairman of which was Lieut.-Gen. H. N. A. Swart, at that time Vice-President of the Council of the Netherlands Indies. Other additions and corrections given at the end of Fragmenta VII are interpolated in their proper places in this translation. ; ’ At the time of the publication of the translated articles, Prof. Lam’s title was Assistant in the Herbarium of the ’s Lands Plantentuin, Buitenzorg, Java; at present he is Director of the Rijksherbarium, Leiden, Netherlands. 2 SARGENTIA [5 ( 130\" ito} 90° QOL. O° STILLE OCEAAN Kaap d'Urvi(le 0 as q> Kustvlakte 7 v.Pee -eil. Sue ae wy . on 3 oh ce Manic. ‘a Migs ‘ % “Rombebal-meer Ss, * a Whe Pali i put CF OR: = * A \= Pioni i aid oll, ¢ onierbivah . i Othen-riv GAUTTIER Havik-eit- Marineversne(( | i? . ape PZ Edi-versnell. +2000 v.Gelder-ety, "2, vtete ‘ ies =G t BA. a 3 tiboo VAN Re ES- wp Batavia versnettingen a Pe oe a, Mi, Re a ay, we My ( “ey, GE D: Hiaywe "% Ae . M d.wiltigen 4 ™, F ro at? vin L 6 9 big gata A , vs y 100 M F,. e o % ees a"! Net ty, out” 2 m4 er ot rr oo , Pravwenélva ’ I ‘ Boor man. Deormantsp } 358% aes Centrale Hete ° Peni ©, ann ening ated) GOO? em. NI ie Pd “77 “4 ae tier Wilthe{minapas “y parts. MAP A Legend . Tulband-bivak . Edi-bivak . Wand-bivak . Batavia-bivak . Kalong-bivak . Veen-bivak Donk Wh N.B. The area limited by a border in the Central Region is considerably enlarged and given in greater detail in Map B. Map A (river bivouacs 1-6) gives a general view of the entire region; a part of it is enlarged in map B (land bivouacs 1-20). I. Chronological survey of the Mamberamo Exploration in general ‘ and of the Expedition to Central New Guinea 1920-1922 in particular A. History previous to the Expedition 1920-1922. 1884. Voyage of the government steamship “‘Havik.” The ship reached Havik Island, just upstream from the present Pionier-bivak. 4 Cf. also: Verslag van de Militaire Exploratie van Nederlandsch-Nieuw-Guinee 1907—1915, uitg. Dept. v. Oorlog, 1920, 1945] LAM, FRAGMENTA PAPUANA g 1900. Voyage of the steamship “‘Camphuijs”’ of the Koninklijke Paketvaart- Maatschappij to Havik Island. 1906. Voyage of the government steamer ‘‘Brak’’ to Havik Island. 1909. Voyage of the small government steamship ‘‘Pionier’’ (after which Pionier-bivak is named) 20 km. beyond Havik Island, and an additional trip of 15 km.° further by proa. 1909-1910. Franssen Herderschee Expedition.6 This reached the Meer- vlakte for the first time and proceeded up the van der Willigen River. On account of the illness of many participants, this undertaking had to be dis- continued at the beginning of the overland journey. The base was located first at IXoetei-bivak on the van Gelder River, but later it was moved to the Old Pionier-bivak on the left bank of the Okten River a few hundred meters from its mouth. The altitude reached was 850 m.