What the fig is that ???
Its a geocarpic fig actually, meaning that the figs are actually produced at ground level to benefit animal dispersal. This particular species is Ficus uncinata which we found in central Kalimantan lowland forest close to a stream.
* cartoon from D. Eisikowitch and M. Ghara Acta horticulturae October 2017
Now abit of biology.
Figs may be monoecious (where male and female flowers appear inside the same fig) or dioecious, where different trees bear either all-male or all-female figs. Ficus uncinata belongs to the latter category, which can be represented by either c (male) or d (female) figs. As you can see from the cartoon, the male fig actually contains many female short styled flowers, which are sacrificial in function and will not develop seeds (as opposed to only long style ones in the female fig). The female pollinator, which is a species specific pollinator wasp, enter from a pore called ostiole and attempt to insert its long ovipositer via the style into the ovary to release the eggs but only succeed to do so in the short-style flowers in male fig, the style in the female figs being too long for the ovipositer to reach the ovary. The eggs hatch in the male fig and induced gall formation which nourish the larvae - while the female figs, once pollinated, develop seeds and not galls. Hence, the fig offered its short styled female flowers as food for the wasp in exchanged for the long style flowers to be pollinated .... both the fig and wasp goes home happy.
This particular tree is a male as evidenced by the long stamens (white strands at top left) and the galls inside.
Against the trend in the competitive, selfish natural world, the fig and the pollinator wasp work in such perfect mutualism that it seems inevitable that there has to be a hacker, a lock picking free loader to spoil the fun. This comes in the form of a parasitic wasp, which the way, is really cool....
If you try pushing a strand of hair through the unripe fig, you will find that it will be an exercise in futility. However, this ovipositor is no ordinary strand of hair - its a material scientist's dream - not only does it has chemical and mechanical sensors, its ultra sharp tip is reinforced with zinc and throughout its length tiny pits are strategically located to allow it to bend rather then snap and break. This appendage allows this wasp to punch and feel its way into the area of the fig where the larvae of the pollinator wasp reside where it will deposit its eggs and gate crash the perfect party.
They are so cool that they can be forgiven for being the bad guys in this overall scheme of things ....
A rain tree just outside the ground of my old primary school, which no longer exist. An unglamorous school in a forgotten corner perhaps, but it had lifted us closer to the light.
The tree itself was tall and errect so it was quite unusual to have this tangled mess of stilt roots growing from only one side, dangling in the air. 
I cannot explain its unnusual growth habit but I did manage to find its name from a friend - who coincidentally, volunteered in an organisation called 
The fruit capsule :
To be frank there were more than 1 species of pine tree here, and they all looked similar to me. However, as one climbed towards the treeline, the concentration of the real McCoy became much denser.
Supposedly, there were slivers of living tissue sandwiched between those gnarled lifeless trunks, but then again, some may have been killed by lightning – hard to tell really, especially when they have so little leaves.
We pushed north under a wide sky glowing crimson to spend the night at Lee Vining.
Before the first ray of sun, we bolted out of the door to soak in the lunar ambience of Mono Lake and its ancient tufa towers. These calcium deposit were only visible after the lake was partially drained to irrigate orchards and now the local conservationists had stepped in to stop the waterline from dropping further.
I kept my fingers crossed at Lee Vining – sometimes Tioga Pass, our planned entry route to Yosemite, would be closed due to snow in October. This time luck was on our side. This was the view of the mountain range we would be traversing …..
Patchy fall colours were were starting to show as we entered Tioga pass, which ascended up to 3000m at the western Sierra Nevada before dipping towards the valley.....
....leading us right into the glacial-carved panoramas of Yosemite National Park.
At Olmstead Point, I took a vested interest in a strangely shaped pine, and hoped it would be a hundred times smaller so it could fit into my bonsai pot …..
.... our attention soon turned to the water to find some darting mud skippers - a melancholic looking goby which can breath air....in fact it has been kown to drown in aquariums tanks which have too much water. 
.... the large orchid Cymbidium finlaysonii is everywhere near the clearings, even growing on the sandy ground.
As we ventured further inland, we entered a lowland dipterocarp forest which turned out to be an orchid paradise. I was surprise to see this Dendrobium aloifolium growing in clumps on boulders so near the ground level - I had previously only seen them on fallen logs - usually they are perched high on the inaccessible parts of the trees. This plant had very interesting succulent leaves but its flowers - borned on the long terminal spikes, were minute and unattractive.
Bulbophyllums seemingly from section Sestochilus were all over the place - this one dangling above the water was pregnant. It appeared that I had just missed the flowering season as none of them were blooming .....
.... another orchid that looked also like a Bulbophyllm but was in fact Thelasis pygmaea.
Draping the branches and rocks are these Dischidia bengalensis .... a common and widespread Asclepiad that lived in close association with ants.
.... just above our heads are these Hydnophytum formicarum - a curious member of the Rubiaceae family that had hollow chambered stem sheltering ants and many other creepy crawlies - this particular one had a 10cm long centipede curled within. These tenants paid their dues by providing protection and whatever crap and leftovers to nourish the plant.
On higher ground and crossing a stream, green and red forms of Nepenthes mirabilis were growing on the soggy banks.
Some Dipterocarps had left their winged fruits on the ground ; these would make an interesting potpourri - all I need is a few drops of fragrant oil !
As we walked pass this straggler vine and its host, we were reminded once again that even in the seemingly docile plant world, the savage struggle for resources was unrelenting ..... 
Bad luck for the tree ....its fate was sealed. The straggler constricted and cut through its bark, impeding the flow of water and food, and the tree suffered a slow demise. After it eventually rotted away, only a giant spring-like liana will remain, with one less competitor for sunlight.
Trees along the trail were not really very big - this was one of the bigger one, and came equipped with a useful little hollow. 
The monkeys did not show up this time but the rain did, so we had use for the umbrella afterall. We kept our heads and noses dry....more or less. 
Durio zibethinus , or durians if you may, are in the market again. 100 days ago, the tree would have looked like this ....yep, it takes that long from flowering to harvest.
Sometimes things become clearer in monochrome, when one sheds away the hues that distract and detract from one's focus. Emerging from the movie Nights of the Museum 2, which incidentally was not as fresh as the first, I took home a message that might cheer up this jaded path.
Is this somewhere in Somalia ? Ethiopia ?
The weird trunk of the famous specimen of Cay Gao, (Salmalia malabarica or Bombax malabaricum) along the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. This large tropical tree is a relative of the Hibiscus.
With its figs, or more correctly, synconia, almost covering the whole mid section of its main trunk, this Ficus fistulosa is having a very fruitful 2008 indeed. 
An unknown legume from Malaysia lowland forest flowering from bare trunk.
Belimbang Hutan (which means jungle starfruit in Malay) or Baccaurea angulata in Latin. Actually, it is from family Euphorbiaceae while starfruit Averrhoa carambola is from Family Scarabaeoidea.
The colourful fruits brought more than a cheerful respite from the dull green of the jungle. It has a sour but juicy mesocarp which quenches the thirst of us thirsty hikers. It is only found in Borneo.
