The University of North Carolina Herbarium has
databased approximately 30 specimens collected by Tem
Smitinand. Most
are from Thailand, though a few were collected in Vietnam. No doubt more will be found as databasing continues.
Dr. Smitinand was
associated with the Forest Herbarium (BKF) in Thailand, and a specialist in
the taxonomy of the Cycadaceae, Dipterocarpaeae,
and the Orchidaceae. From 1947-1977 Smitinand
organized a group of collectors to document the flora of various regions of
Thailand. These collectors included
Dee Bunpheng, Din Nakkan,
Chit Nuphakdee, Ploenchit
Suvarnakoset, Bunnak Sangkhachand, Bunchu Nimanong, Sanan Phengnaren, Damrongsak Praphat, Sanoh Phengnaren, Sanan Thaworn, Sinchai Phusomsaeng, and Kanthachai Bunchai. (1)
Smitinand and co-author Gunnar Seidenfaden
(1908-2001) are best known for the four volume work, The Orchids of Thailand: A
Preliminary List.
For about 20 years, Seidenfaden had
been away from botany when this suddenly changed in 1955. That year he was sent to Bangkok as Danish
ambassador with the assignment to establish a Danish embassy responsible for
contacts with the growing economies of Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos,
Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
In Bangkok, he met a young Thai forest botanist, Tem Smitinand, employed in the Royal Forest Department, and
together they started collecting and studying Thai orchids. During his early years in Thailand, Seidenfaden realized the possibilities for collaboration
in biological research between the two countries, which already had a long
tradition for contacts through their Royal families and various joint business
enterprises. In 1958-59 the idea of
Thai-Danish botanical expeditions to remote parts of Thailand began to materialize. The first expedition was followed by five
more, and the field work resulted in the initiation of the Flora of Thailand
project. Prof. Kai Larsen, University
of Aarhus, and Dr. Bertel Hansen, Botanical Museum,
came to play important parts in this project, together with a long range of
Thai botanists from scientific institutions all over the country… Field trips were made during weekends and
holidays, often with Tem Smitinand. The first result of these studies, G. Seidenfaden and T. Smitinand, The Orchids of Thailand – A Preliminary
List (1959-1965), was published in Bangkok in four parts with a total of
c. 900 pages and covering ca. 750 species. (2)
Smitinand collected over 12,000 specimens and duplicates were
distributed to European and American herbaria.
Image from
: http://www.orchids-flowers.com/famous-botanists/tem-smitinand-botanist-thailand/
Partial list of publications:
Smitinand, Tem, Paul B. Tompsett, and
Martin Cheek (1993)
A new synonym and a range extension for Dipterocarpus alatus. Kew Bulletin 48(2): 397-399.
Smitinand, Tem and Kai Larsen, eds. (1979-1995) Flora of Thailand, volumes
1-19. Bangkok: Applied Scientific Research Corporation of
Thailand.
Smitinand, Tem (1980) The manual of Dipterocarpaceae
of mainland Southeast Asia.
Bangkok: Secretariat of the
Cabinet Printing Office under the auspices of the National Research Council
of Thailand.
Smitinand, Tem (1980) Thai plant names: botanical names, vernacular names. [complete citation needed]
Smitinand, Tem (1975) Wild flowers of Thailand. [complete citation needed]
Seidenfaden, G. and Smitinand, T. (1970)
Report of the sixth Thai-Danish Expedition 1968. Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 23: 527-540.
Seidenfaden, G., Smitinand, T., Thorson,
G. (1968) Report
on the Fifth Thai Danish Expedition 1966.
Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 22:
245-261.
Smitinand, Tem (1966) Edible and poisonous plants and
animals: Annex to survival manual for
Thailand and adjacent areas. [complete
cititation needed]
Seidenfaden, Gunnar and Tem Smitinand
(1959-1965) The
Orchids of Thailand, parts 1-4.
Bangkok: Siam Society.
Smitinand, Tem (1958) Identification keys to genera and
species of the Dipterocarpaceae of Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin. [comlete citation
needed]
