5mm

We all know babies are precious....

but this minute nymph sitting on the unripened pod of a Globba is a gem.

We were trekking in a threatened peat swamp forest in Johore, Peninsula Malaysia. The peat is formed in wet, seasonally waterlogged areas where decomposition of the organic matter was slowed due to low oxygen content, and hence lower bacterial activities. The whole area is rapidly cleared for oil palm plantation and we witness new devastations in every renewed visits. Fortunately, the plunge in international crude oil price right now should dampen the demand for so called "bio-fuel", which paradoxically, lay claims to be an environmentally-friendly substitute.

I am hoping the oil price will stay that way - it will certainly benefit both men and beasts, at least until greenhouse effect take over.

The next few posts will feature some flora and critters from this forest.

L-O-V-E .... Begonia bataiensis

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can ....

Nat King Cole is irreplaceable.

Begonia bataiensis is a dimunitive Vietnamese species from the karst outcrop, Ba Tai mountain, very recently described for the first time by Ruth Kiew in 2005. This is a treasured gift from a feverish collector.... : )

Looks like Picassa is having serious problem, switching to photobucket to rush out for this Valentine post.....

The elusive Hoya obtusifolia

I found this very large Hoya from a giant fallen tree in southern Johore many years ago. The stem was so thick and the leaves so thick and succulent I initially though it was one of those climbing aroids. From a cutting, a large specimen many metres long was derived which flowered during the evening. The flowers had a mango-like smell I recalled.

Supposedly, this is not a very common plant. My original specimen perished a couple of years ago and I am still looking for a replacement without success.

Dry

Is this somewhere in Somalia ? Ethiopia ?
.... Moon ?

Actually, its the surface of the great butress trunk of a Kapok tree Ceiba pentandra, tilted 90 degrees.

It has been almost two months without rain. This January is the dryest month in Singapore for the past 10 years. Only 38.3 mm of rainfall was recorded, a far cry from the long-term average of 244 mm.