Hiking the Padawan Highlands in March 2015

Had the chance to hike around the area generically known as 'Borneo Highlands' in March this year. We only did one of the loops in the area and did not hike up Gunung Penrissen, which is the highest peak in this area, at a modest 1326 meters above sea level. Will definitely have to hike up the summit on my next visit.

Gunung Penrissen (top) and the Kalimantan Barat valley (bottom) as seen from the official viewpoint area.

It is much cooler in this region due to the elevation and the persistent fog (you can see some of that misty weather in the shot above). There are many stunning tree ferns (the genus Cyathea) as well as huge Zingiberaceae specimens to be seen during the hike. The predominant tree fern species is probably Cyathea latebrosa, although one may need to have a closer look to be certain considering the variation and uncertainty presented by species in this genus. There's a closely related species named Cyathea wallacei which may be present here as well.

Cyathea latebrosa

The climate here is very conducive for many orchid species, but we went at the time when not many were flowering. We only saw only three orchid species in flower, two of which were identifiable.

1. Arundina graminifolia

Zoomed out photo of Arundina graminifolia clusters with Cyathea latebrosa in the background.

2. Dendrobium paathii

3. Eria sp.? (mass flowering high up in the trees)

4. Dendrobium sp.?

5. Oberonia sp.?

6. Coelogyne odoardi ? (lithophytic)

7. ?? (litophytic)

8. Jewel orchid ? (terrestrial)

Coelogyne usitana

The genus Coelogyne is widespread in Asia, adapting to many climes and is a prominent genus on Borneo. They typically have a creeping rhizome, with pseudobulbs that carry beautiful plicate leaves. Their charming inflorescences often carry many flowers but Coelogyne usitana along with other species in this group are exceptions for this flowering habit because the raceme will continue to flower indefinitely, much like Phalaenopsis bellina. Coelogyne usitana was only described in 2001 and is endemic to Mindanao in the Philippines. It's an easy grower, and the flowers from the plant shown here has a honey-like scent.

Coelogyne usitana ('Giant' x self)