Malaysia has an exceptional palm diversity with 443 species recorded within its borders, making it the richest in the world. It is also the centre of diversity for a few genera: Areca, Eugeissona, Johannesteijsmannia, Licuala, Maxburretia, Nenga and Pholidocarpus. Sarawak, Pahang, Sabah, Terengganu, and Johor have the highest palm diversities in descending order. Out of the 152 species with their conservation status evaluated, more than 55% were found to be threatened; 31 taxa as critically endangered, 33 taxa endangered and 21 taxa vulnerable.
Dato’ Dr Saw Leng Guan FASc. is a fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. He retired from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia in 2015. He was the Curator of Penang Botanic Gardens from April 2017 until May 2021. Dr Saw was awarded the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Medal in 2016 for his botanical and conservation work in Malaysia. His main botanical interests include palm taxonomy and ecology, flora of Malaysia, plant and ecosystem conservation, and botanical garden development.