Charles Clarke (botanist)

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Dr. Charles M. Clarke (born in Melbourne, Australia) is a botanist and taxonomist specialising in the carnivorous plant genus Nepenthes. Clarke has an honours degree in Botany from Monash University in Melbourne, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Management at the University of New England, in Armidale, New South Wales.

His interest in pitcher plants first lured him to Borneo in 1987, and he has been going back ever since. In 1989 and 1990 he lived in Brunei, studying the ecology of pitcher plants and travelling extensively around the island. In between stints in Borneo he has taught Ecology and Biometrics at James Cook University in Queensland, and worked as a horticultural consultant in Hong Kong.

He is now based at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Clarke has written five books and guides on Nepenthes, which present a synthesis of the research performed on his travels around Borneo.

Clarke has described four species of Nepenthes: Nepenthes benstonei, Nepenthes izumiae, Nepenthes jacquelineae, and Nepenthes chaniana.

[edit] Publications

Clarke, C.M. 1992. The ecology of metazoan communities in Nepenthes pitcher plants in Borneo, with special reference to the community of Nepenthes bicalcarata Hook.f. Ph.D. thesis, University of New England, Armidale, N.S.W. 269 pp.
Clarke, C.M. & Kitching, R.L. 1993. The Metazoan Food Webs from Six Bornean Nepenthes Species. Ecological Entomology 18: 7-16.
Clarke, C.M. & Moran, J.A. 1994. A further record of aerial pitchers in Nepenthes ampullaria Jack. Malayan Nature Journal 47: 321-323.
Clarke, C.M. & Kitching, R.L. 1995. Swimming Ants and Pitcher Plants: a Unique Ant-Plant Interaction from Borneo. Journal of Tropical Ecology 11(4):589-602.
Clarke, C.M. 1997. Nepenthes of Borneo. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. xi + 207 pp.
Clarke, C.M. 1997. Another nice trip to Sumatra. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 26(1): 4-10.
Clarke, C.M. 1997. The effects of pitcher dimorphism on the metazoan community of the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes bicalcarata Hook.f. Malayan Nature Journal 50: 149-157.
Clarke, C.M. 1998. Initial colonisation and prey capture in Nepenthes bicalcarata (Nepenthaceae) pitchers in Brunei. Sandakania 12: 27-36.
Clarke, C.M. 1998. The aquatic arthropod community of the pitcher plant, Nepenthes bicalcarata (Nepenthaceae) in Brunei. Sandakania 11: 55-60.
Clarke, C.M. 1998. A re-examination of geographical variation in Nepenthes food webs. Ecography 21: 430-436.
Clarke, C.M. 1999. Nepenthes benstonei (Nepenthaceae), a new pitcher plant from Peninsular Malaysia. Sandakania 13: 79-87.
Clarke, C.M. 2001. Ecology & Conservation of Montane Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae) in Sumatra. Fourth International Flora Malesiana Symposium. 20-24 July 1998, Kuala Lumpur.
Clarke, C.M. 2001. Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. ix + 325 pp.
Clarke, C.M. 2001. A Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Sabah. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. iv + 40 pp.
Clarke, C.M. 2002. A Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. iv + 32 pp.
Clarke, C.M. & Lee, C.C. 2004. A Pocket Guide: Pitcher Plants of Sarawak. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. vi + 81 pp.