Stealth Bomber

Bulbophyllum digoelense, one of those weird orchids from lowlands of Papua New Guinea. It is slow growing for me but the flowers from the different rachis keep coming.

Little apples

....well, actually infructescence of Anthurium vittariifolium.

Highland Scrub habitat

A walk at Ulu Kali, 1500m asl .....

Misty morning with slope of full of Medinillas

.... perhaps Medinilla speciosa but cannot really confirm

....the highland tree fern Cyathea contaminans

.... a fig tree with trunk covered by orange lichen....

.... the beard lichen Usnea sp

....Lichen colonies side by side ...

.... at the exposed ridge, an unknown creeper

....flowering Oberonia ancepes, a common orchid with interesting foliage

.... flowers of the bamboo orchid here are almost double the size of those in lowland

a stand of terrestrial Bamboo orchid Arudina graminifolia at disturbed open ground with resam

....another ground orchid - the bright yellow Spathoglottis aurea only grows in the highland. At the lowland, it is replaced by lilac coloured S. plicata.

....this plant is very ornamental with nice widely opening flowers.

Evil Weevil

The kids were jumping in excitement with the arrival of this uninvited guest. It was an Asian palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (syn Rhynchophorus vulneratus) - a destructive pest much hated by the palm growers, as its large grub, up to 10cm long, are known to munch tunnels through soft tissue of its hosts, often causing irreversible damage by the time its presence was apparent.

It was not a looker but we were mesmerised watching the 2 twirling antennae each with its pulsating satellite dish at the tip.

Fortunately for the critter, I do not have palms at home, otherwise it would be beetlejuice.

Showing off ....

Showing off my Anthurium veitchii acquired as a small 15cm long plant 9 years ago. This is supposedly a cool grower but decided to settle down here in the lowland.

Reticulated Bulbophyllum

While coming down from a limestone hill in Sarawak, we stumbled on an interesting orchid on the dryish forest floor .....

This orchid has a very distinctive network marks on the leaves and not surprising, is known by its latin name Bulbophyllum reticulatum.

I have a very free-flowering specimen growing on a fern bark for many years but never once had I suspect it could actually be a ground dweller.
The cluster of flowers somehow remind me of a nestling of small birds - the hinged lips are highly mobile and will rock to and fro with slightest movement.

An Epithemia

An ephemeral Epithemia that would set seed and die off suddenly - this one has been growing wild at my plot for years now - originally probably coming from seed heads from a limestone hill in Pahang.

Red traps of Nepenthes sanguinea

A couple of sanguine beauties were sun tanning in the highland of Ulu Kali....

...attracted by their beauty and sweet nectar, daring pleasure seekers on high walk on the threshold of death ....

....unbeknownst to them, a couple of skinny dippers lying motionless at the bottom of the chalice had already paid their dues ....
Nepenthes sanguinea is a highland carnivore confined to Peninsula Malaysia and Thailand. Although reputed to be common by Charles Clarke, the intense colouration and large size (about 30cm tall) of the specimens still managed to capture our undivided attention. This species has extrafloral nectaries on the pitchers, which explain the accumulation of ants at the peristome. In some Nepenthes species, the nectar contained a substance that disorientate the ants which are observed to dance round and round the peristome. I tried to close in to see what the ants were feeding on and it appears to be either the sticky film or those white powdery stuff on the peristome. Surprisingly in our encounter, no ants were found inside the pitchers yet....just a fly and a harvestman.