Malesian Botany
The research group Plants of the Indopacific (PITA) brings together the research on the vascular plants of the Malesian region.
The immense, and very incompletely known diversity of flowering plants and ferns of the Malesian region (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam) and adjacent Thailand and Indochina is central to the programme of this research group. Selected species-rich genera from widespread families (currently Annonaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Leguminosae, Orchidaceae, Poaceae, Urticaceae and various Pteridophytes) are singled out for semi-monographic, phylogenetic and biogeographical analysis, using macromorphology, characters from pollen, leaf and wood anatomy, and DNA sequences.
