The island of New Guinea is one of the world’s highest diversity areas in terms of its 13,600 vascular plant species. It is also one of the least botanically explored parts of the world, so documentation of the flora is very important. The documentation of palms is as important as that of any other vascular plant group.
In the past, the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea lived a nomadic life. Palms played very significant roles in their survival by providing food, medicine and shelter. The fronds and their sheaths were used as roofing and walls for makeshift huts. The juvenile shoots from some species were readily available as a source of food, and the seeds were eaten as stimulants (betel nut). The nomadic lifestyle has now been replaced. People no longer live that life due to the introduction of the westernised education system. This has led to completely different ways of thinking and surviving.
Traditional knowledge of plants no longer exists in the younger generations of today because they
are stationed permanently in one location. Food, shelter, stimulants and medicines are now much more easily reached. There are only a few elders left who know the old ways, and the young generation of today does not see the need to seek advice from them. The behaviours of the young are influenced by the western world, and for this reason, the transfer of traditional knowledge is now almost non-existent.
It is very important to properly document the entirety of our flora, especially the most useful species, such as palms. This book, Palms of New Guinea, builds on two previous field guides, but is much more comprehensive than those forerunners. It is full of information on all 250 species, their distribution, their local names, their traditional uses, their identification and morphological features, and more.
This book is very user friendly, with many photographs and illustrations that will help anyone, especially the layperson, to identify a palm species on sight.
I am one of the remnant, still-active, senior botanists in Papua New Guinea, home-grown after the colonial era, and I truly regard Palms of New Guinea as one of the best modern-day books published on our palms. This book will be treasured by many up-and-coming New Guinea plant enthusiasts. I am so grateful to William Baker and his team because this book, I believe, will really make a difference. Tenkyu tru!