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.