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Rhododendron konori
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San Francisco Botanical Garden is developing a display garden of Vireya
rhododendrons in an area that was historically called "The
Burma Road". This collection will be expanded and developed
into the Southeast Asian Cloud Forest, featuring cloud forest plants
collected from Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and
New Guinea. These countries are endowed with mountains rising to
at least 7,000 feet in elevation - high enough to harbor cloud forest
communities.
Historically, only orchids, African violet relatives
(gesneriads), and some of the colorful Vireya rhododendrons have
been brought into cultivation from Southeast Asian cloud forests.
Most of the plants acquired for this collection have never been
cultivated before, implying an experimental approach to care and
maintenance.
Kumbakarna battles the monkey army.
Bali Botanic Gardens, Indonesia
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San Francisco Botanical Garden's Southeast Asian Cloud Forest will serve three purposes:
introduce new species to the horticultural palette of the Bay Area;
assist in ex situ conservation of rare and endangered species; and
educate visitors about the threats to cloud forests from human population
and development, and the importance of preserving natural habitat.
Partnerships with botanical institutions
in these countries also allow documentation and conservation of
SE Asian flora, and capacity-building for institutional partners
to further their own missions of biodiversity conservation and conservation
education.
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