Morning bash at Titiwangsa mossy forest

Rising before the sun, we drove to an open barren dumping ground doubled up as a parking spot,  marched through a path bordered by tall grasses,  drove away a pack of wild dogs,  waited for the first ray before scrambling up a slope and eventually entering a cool dark mossy forest....

 The ground was soft and moist and littered with terrestrial herbs....

like Medinilla (an epiphyte on fallen branch) - M. clarkei ?

Platanthera angustata, a highland terrestrial orchid - we saw this everywhere but could not get a good flower to photograph.

  

 

This one I have absolutely no idea .... is the flower coming from those leaves or it that a saprophyte ?

 

 

This ginger with its characteristics stilt roots and erect yellow inflorescence is Geostachys densiflora. It is endemic to the Titiwangsa Range and is deemed vulnerable due to extensive developments.

   

.... its rather horticultural but alas, a cool grower.

Another cool growing ginger - Camptandra ovata

  Different types of mosses on the ground ....

Hymenophyllum - the familiar filmy ferns of the elfian forest, draping the trunks.

 

Xiphopterella hieronymusii, a fern confined to montane forests in Peninsula Malaysia and Thailand. I have seen a similar lowland species in Leyte which I should have checked the spore patterns.

Many epiphytic orchids, but only 2 flowering :This one is  Dilochia cantleyi, also confined to highlands....

The inflorescence is really stunning !

A tree trunk full of Coelogynes ....

This one appears to be C. radicosa

And the charming Rhododendron malayanum. This was first described by William Jack from specimens collected in Sumatra - as to why it turned out not to be a "sumatranum" was not known. This widespread Vireya can also be found in the lowlands. 

And this is another mystery plant at the edge of the forest, in more open space. It appears to be some kind of horsetail growing on a tree, or perhaps an aberrant Psilotum nudum - a parasite from mistletoe family (Viscaceae) has also been suggested.

Still unsure what this can be ....

 

Near  the edge of the forest, we met another lovely Nepenthes sanguinea ....

and its a lady !

Malaysian Begonias - limited and regular pressings

I had the pleasure of doing some botanising in the jungles of Peninsula Malaysia recently where I encountered some interesting Begonias. 2 of them are those that you would often expect to see in the jungle here, while the other 2 are rare and restricted in their distribution. 

 

Right up in the northern state of Kedah, there is a small little plant growing on precipitous sandstone slopes that Ruth Kiew called "Shilling Begonia". Its latin name is Begonia sibthorpiodes -  attributed to its likeness to the pennywort-  Sibthorpia.  It had very small leaves (1-2 cm diameter) and was growing on a misty vertical cliff about 15-20 m from me so if it had not been for the relatively large pink flowers, I would have dismissed it completely.

Other than being very small, it is also very rare. It has only been recorded growing on the summit of 2 mountains in Kedah, at the altitude of 700 - 1200m.

Not far from the same cliff, a population of Begonia sinuata var sinuata was growing under the shade of the bushes.  This is one of the most common Begonia here and also has a wide distribution througout SE Asia.  This plant is ephemeral and will die after 1 growing season, after setting plenty of seeds.

Way down at the southernmost state of Johore : 2 hours on tarred road (from Singapore), 1 hour of 4X4 and yet another hour of an ascending jungle track by foot took us to the locality of the only remaining habitat of the beautiful  Begonia rajah. 

This plant was discovered in 1890s where specimens from Trengganu were brought to UK from which all of the plants in the horticulture trade descended from. Although cultivated plants are readily available, the wild plants were supposedly extinct as no specimens were ever seen again.

In 2002, the plant was rediscovered at a remote location in Johore, about 300 km from its last known locality ! As you can see, not only is this plant very rare (at least in the wild), it is also very pretty, which explains its popularity amongst the hobbyists.

 

The plants we saw were growing on steep rocks close to the stream or adjacent to or even on cascades and waterfalls.This is not an easy condition to replicate in cultivation, which explains why many growers find them difficult.

 

 

Under this optimal conditions, some of the plants became quite large, certainly much larger than those I saw in cultivation ....

Along the muddy paths further away from the stream, we saw plenty of this errect Begonia barbellata, a common plant in undisturbed forests throughout S. Thailand and eastern side of Peninsula Malaysia. This plant is attractive due to its red hairy stem and pink flowers but like many Begonias here, its not easy to grow. 

 

This one is growing with some cup fungus .....

Camptandra ovata

Camptandra ovata, a small ginger on the mossy forest floor, Pahang 1500 asl. The plants from this small genus have campanulate bracts. 

Mass flowering of Argostemma

Cold swirling clouds shrouded us as we slid out of the dark undergrowth at a highland trail. On one side we were protected from a possibly limb-breaking drop by stunted trees and shrubs ; at the other side was a mossy slope full of white stars ...... 

..... this floriferous population of Argostemma (elatostemma ?) would be one of the justifications of our folly. Argostemma is large genus consisting of about 100 species, most of them in Asia but there are a couple of anamolous species in Africa also.Not all of them are highland type of course but the lowland varieties tend to be less eye catching. The genus as a whole are not commonly grown, which is a pity.

The black pitcher - Nepenthes ramispina

This is one of the species of pitcher plants endemic to Peninsula Malaysia and is most closely related to N. gracillima and the white pitcher N. alba. While the latter 2 are confined to the Gunung Tahan mountain, this species is widespread across the central Titiwangsa range at altitude above 1000m.

The species is most recognisable by its striking pitcher which is black to dark purplish grey on the outside (including the periostome) and a contrasting pale green on the inside. The shape is also distinguishable, being elongated with a distinct "hip" at the midway. According to literature the pitcher can be 20cm long but only those one third the reported size were sighted.

Not far away, we found an aberrant specimen which had a mottled pitcher. I believe this is a natural hybrid Nepenthes ramispina x macfarlanei ....

...its other parent, N. macfarlanei, was also found on the same locality. It has a squat pitcher that flare at the top and a nice fleckled pattern - a trait which was passed down to the hybrid. You can see my previous entry of this plant here.

Mr Macfarlane's exquisite WC

Amongst tall grasses away from prying eyes, these would be my inspiration for truly luxurious WCs, if I am ever asked to submit a prototype.
Nepenthes macfarlanei is named after a Scottish botanist, John Muirhead Macfarlane, who authored one of the earliest monograph of this genus in 1908. Since his original description of 51 species way back then, the list of known species of tropical pitcher plants has roughly been doubled.
The species is endemic to highlands of Peninsula Malaysia and is still relatively common. The lower pitcher is urn shaped, with its pointy end anchoring it securely in the moss or soft substrate. Literature suggests it could be as tall as 30cm. So far the few specimens encountered in this recce were sitting at the ledge of precipituous drops, I presumed the reason was that the more accessible specimens had been collected by admirers.

The underside of the lid of this species has white hairs - which is unique amongst the Malaysian species. The glands secret a nectar which attract ants. Inevitably, some will drop into the pitcher.

In one of the pitchers, I found a white grub doing a back stroke.
I am not really sure if its a resident or an ingredient of the deadly broth - but the leisurely flapping of its behind seemed to suggest it was neither in pain nor danger.

The hump back Dischidia

Dischidia astephana is endemic to the highland of Malaysia. It belongs to a group of Dischidias with turtle shell leaves that attract ants below the surface, However, its bumpy leaf and the five-lobed scarlet flowers set it apart from all other similar species. The strange leaves even turn purplish under bright light !
While wandering in the highland, we noticed this tree with one fork showing the flaking bark typical of many species from the Myrte family (Myrtaceae), and the other smothered with this Dischidia .....
....which is kind of baffling since the flaking bark is supposed to rid the tree of epiphytes. Anyway, this species is documented to be found commonly found on Leptospermum and probably other myrtle-like plants. You can see that the leaves actually stack on top of each other - creating folds upon folds of hiding places for its insect friends.
.... I gave a few taps on the foliage with a stick and angry ants started oozing out from the crevices.
....the abdomens, which are shaped like black spades from poker cards, identified them as Crematogaster sp ....
Here's a closeup of the unique flower. While most Dischidias are rather drab, this species is very desirable horticulturally. If only it is more tolerable to the lowland heat .....