ABSTRACT
I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 421 II. Native Species of Ornamental Geophytes in Asia ................................................................. 422
A. Liliaceae .......................................................................................................................... 422 B. Amaryllidaceae ............................................................................................................... 423 C. Zingiberaceae .................................................................................................................. 423 D. Iridaceae .......................................................................................................................... 423 E. Other Families ................................................................................................................. 423
III. Contribution of Asian Geophytes to the Global Ornamental Horticulture ...........................424 A. Lily ..................................................................................................................................424 B. Curcuma ..........................................................................................................................424 C. Gloriosa ........................................................................................................................... 425
IV. Local Production of Ornamental Geophytes ......................................................................... 425 A. China ............................................................................................................................... 425 B. South Korea ..................................................................................................................... 427 C. Vietnam ........................................................................................................................... 428 D. Thailand ........................................................................................................................... 429 E. Taiwan ............................................................................................................................. 430 F. Other Countries ............................................................................................................... 430
V. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 430 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 431 Chapter Contributor ....................................................................................................................... 431 References ...................................................................................................................................... 432
Commercial –ower production in Asia initially developed in the temperate zones of Japan and Korea. Until now, these countries remain the center of –ower production and local consumption in Asia. However, the newly emerging regions of –ower production in East and Southeast Asia differ from the former production areas in both geographical and environmental conditions. The “Tropical highlands”, for example, Kunming (altitude 1900 m a.s.l.; average temperature 16°C; precipitation 1000 mm) in China, Da Lat (1500 m, 16°C, 2200 mm) in Vietnam, and the Cameron highland (1500 m, 18°C, 2500 mm) in Malaysia, have recently become important centers of horticultural production. Flower production in the tropical highlands is mainly export oriented, with some advantages (e.g., mild climate and rather low labor cost) and disadvantages (e.g., insuf‹cient technical support, infrastructures, and training and education systems). In addition, the production areas are often located far from market and consumption centers.
