What the Fig....

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.

Figs emerge from  long hairy stolons that dangle down a branch and slide below the leaf litter. The seed dispersers are pigs, deers and mouse deers, which are not deers actually but more related to pigs. The spiky hooks on the pericarp is decorative but their real  purpose is to discourage ingestion by ground birds like pheasants and jungle fowl which have powerful gizzard that destroy the seeds

 

* 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....

 .... this is another type of fig which we saw in Indochina. Can you see the tiny parasitic wasp at the top left fig ?

This wasp does not pollinate the fig - in fact it preys on the larvae of the pollinator wasp resulting in lower seed yield. Here you can see it inserting its skinny ovipositor through the pericarp

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 ....

Into the woods

Burning the road for three hours or so up north eventually lead us to a green heaven, albeit a steamy one.

As soon we stepped out of the cosy automobile into this sauna of a place, we were greeted by a welcome party ....

... a troop of dusky leaf monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus). These are obligate herbivores and most of them have a pot belly as digesting the leaves is a slow inefficient process and hence they tend to over eat. I consider them to be the most adorable monkey in Malaysia due to their peaceful nature and impish looking face.

This particular fearless young guy caught my eyes as it fed nonchalantly on the young leaves just above me.

Fallen while still so glorious, like Kim Jonghyun or James Dean before him perhaps ..... the spent bloom of an Syzgium.

The stilt roots of a tall Dillenia (possibly D. reticulata), showed that this area is seasonally flooded, especially during the year end monsoon.

We were stopped short by a singular tree with a population of these sap-sucking red-nosed lantern flies (Fulgoridae ).

From another angle they look even more ridiculous -  the function of the red-tipped horns remained elusive.

Amydrium medium is a climbing aroid with nice juvenile foliage that turns rather nondescript as it matures.

The rare small palm Licuala kiahii resides in this neck of the woods. East and West Malaysia has the highest diversity of Licuala in the world although to casual observers they look rather similar.


Pinanga disticha is a common palm in this area - it has beautiful mottled foliage. This has great horticultural value and is not difficult to grow in a sheltered location indoor.

 The very interesting Phyllanthus griffithii which is endemic in West Malaysia.

  The distinctive flower and fruits of a Sterculia....

... usually these are giant trees growing in more open area but this small species appear to prefer shade.

 A couple of the so called corpse flower follows - the common Amorphophallus paenifolius which is fruiting ....

....and the much rarer Amorphophallus bufo - which I have yet to see flower despite encountering them many times.

 ....and finally, what a glorious spot to wash our smelly dirty feet .....

"There's no wifi in the woods but you will find a better connection" ....hmmm I am not sure .... we were just trespassing this dark realm, like rolling stones really.....too keen to get back to our comfort zone, too impatient to sync with nature's channel....

Lookalikes

On a boulder beside a jungle stream, an orchid  (Podochilus) that looks like a fern and a fern (Microsorum musifolium ?) that looks like an Pleurothallis orchid.

Red Tailed racer

This red-tailed racer Gonyosoma oxycephalum was sighted clinging on a low isolated shrub about a metre off the ground in lowland forest in Johore. This is an arboreal species that is rarely sighted  on the ground so I think it must have fallen off a branch or something.

Despite its large gentle eyes, it is known to be temperamental though its bite is non venomous.

Finding a Begonia during the dry season

Dryest month during a historical drought (no rain for 4 months) and we decided to search for a Begonia - a notoriously humidity-loving plant at a little known corner of The Philippines.....a fool-hardy endeavour no doubt but we are are no beach-lovers and there were little else to do here...

We were on the road for almost a day ......

slept comfortably, then set up on a boat the next morning.

Unfortunately, the water level was too low and we had to push the boat across the pebbly bottom .....

past some curious locals .....

and eventually decided to land near a dry tributary.

The stream was totally dry and there were steep banks on both our lefts and rights - on wetter days, we would be walking with our heads under the water.

I was not claustrophobic, just hoping it wasn't raining somewhere upstream which would trigger a flash flood ......


And then, suddenly we saw it, growing flat against the steep banks .....

There are some variations in the venation. This one  ....

and this one, found deeper up along the dry stream ....

and something in between .....

 

The plant is from Section Diploclinium and is clearly related to the Begonia cleopatrae described in 2010 and yet its quite different in rosette growth form (rather than a creeper). The flowers and the seed capsules also exclude it from B. suborbiculata but there are quite a few similar looking plants here and I do not have sufficient literature to fall back on. 

....having satisfied our curiosities, we now have to plough back and get some decent food and a good bed ....

Last few flowers

The last few flowers of a large Robiquetia spathulata hanging over a stream - just enough of them to make an identification.

The dangling inflorescence, up to 15cm long, may bear more than 50 flowers but they do not open at the same time, and each small flower has a short live of 1 or 2 days only, which is why this plant is not popularly cultured.

Bulbophyllum translucidum - a new species

The aptly named Bulbophyllum translucidum is a very recent addition to the rich flora of Phillippines. The latin epithet translucidum means translucent, which refers to the thin sparkling margin at the edge of the sepals and petals as shown in the first photo below. 

  

We found this specimen in Samar a few years back which eventually flowered under cultivation.  Although already known for a few years, it was only formally described some months back in Die Orchidee V2(4) 2016 . The type specimen was from Mindanao, which is a little bit diffferent from the Samar form.

I took liberty to cut and past some pictures from the paper as follows:

The most noticeable difference are the leaves, which are very thin in the Samar form and more robust in the type specimen. The second is the flower colouration - but these deltas are typically ignored by taxonomists.

Blue Peas vine

A relative of the jadevine but this is blue instead of green - hence the name Strongylodon caerulea.

This a large vine from the Philippines that has not yet found its way to the horticultural scene.