Functions
Rimba Ilmu has three principal functions:
1. Conservation
Rimba Ilmu is an important repository for many types
of plants, including conservation collections of rare and endangered plants,
and special collections of the useful plants (such as citruses and starch
palms) and their wild relatives. In 2001, two other special collections,
bamboos (sponsored by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute)
and bananas (anchored by one of the university's research groups in banana
cytology), were also begun. Over 2004-5, with the assistance of DHL and
involving their employees, a sepcial collection of Malaysian forest trees
has also been established. Outside of the Rimba Ilmu, it may be very difficult
to observe so many different species of some groups, and the habitats of
some of these plants may have already been altered or damaged. Conservation
also involves public awareness, and visitors are first treated to a permanent
exhibition on Rain Forests when they start to get familiar with the Garden.
A section of the Rain Forests and
Our Environment Exhibition.
Photo: E. Minoura
2. Education and
Public Awareness
At Rimba Ilmu we can learn about the natural heritage
of the Malaysian region and its plant structure, growth habits and uses.
The Rimba Ilmu is principally used in the teaching of botany and plant
conservation at the University, but is now open to visitors for a small
entry fee. Many school groups visit us, and in addition there is also an
Environmental Education Programme. Young visitor groups (kindergarten /
playschool and primary school groups are normally handled through the Malaysian
Nature Society, which works together with the Rimba Ilmu for some of these
programmes).
School group in the Rimba
Ilmu.
Photo: M.S.
Zahid
3. Research
Rimba Ilmu continues to be an important and convenient
research site for many scientific studies, such as phytochemistry (studies
into the chemical properties of plants, including medicinal uses and anti-bacterial
properties, etc.), plant growth and structure, and even insect life. The
Rimba Ilmu Building at the northeast flank of the gardens houses, among
other facilities, the herbarium, a lecture hall, and a permanent interpretative
exhibition. There is also a Rare Plants and Orchid Conservatory which,
as its name implies, caters to special research collections and work with
rare plant species. Primary research
at the Rimba Ilmu is centred on Southeast Asian bamboos, the Rubiaceae
(coffee-family), the genus Fagraea (tembusu family, Gentianaceae), secondary
forest ecology and plant biodiversity of the Malaysian region.
Related to the African Violet, Orchadocarpa
lilacina,
here photographed by the pool in the Conservatory,
is the sole species of this genus, endemic to
Peninsular Malaysia.
Photo: E. Minoura
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