Bornean rainforest, waterfall and orchids

Chasing the slim possibility of good diving conditions during the February monsoon in an El niño year in the North Eastern South China Sea meant facing reality when bad visibility resulted in a trip cut short. However, as fortune would have it, we had a whole day to explore the nearby rainforest reserve during the decompression period, before flying. I almost wished I had made plans to stay longer, as the resident hornbills had just recently hatched their first chicks and it would have been great to have had the chance to spot the happy family. Their distinctive calls were heard often during the hike.

The misty, dipterocarp forest. This picture did not do justice to the sheer size and astounding diversity of the different tree species here.

Beautiful fan palms, Licuala valida, graced the entire hike.

Two examples of winged fruit from Dipterocarpaceae, the second being from Shorea macrophylla a.k.a. Engkabang.

Waterfall.

Underwater shot of fishes at the waterfall.

Nepenthes bicalcarata, with its distinctive lid and beautifully proportioned pitcher.

Musa sp.

Selaginella sp.

One of the terrestrial orchids encountered, Claderia viridiflora, which had a strong scent reminiscent of jasmines.

Coelogyne foerstermanii cluster high up on a tree, some in flower.

Appendicula sp. by a stream.

Fallen Coelogyne sp. (?)

Here are some other orchids that have been rescued from the site and are housed in a shaded area. Hopefully, these will continue to set seed, or be re-distributed somehow.

Acriopsis liliifolia

Robiquetia spathulata

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)

Bulbophyllum purpurascens sightings in Sarawak

I was on the usual morning run and saw these blooming at the tiny forest preserve in the city. There's no elevation here and the forest is exposed to a lot of human activity. Goes to show that the habitat of this species is quite diverse.

Here's a view of the numerous well established Bulbophyllum purpurascens clumps growing on the tree roots close to the ground. 

The big clump on the left.

Another smaller clump that's shaded, but is still flowering quite happily.

A non-phal but Borneo-related orchid post

Managed to catch some orchids in bloom at Gunung Mulu National Park earlier this month. These orchids are wild but epiphytic ones are probably rescues from downed branches that are being grown around the park headquarters. The terrestial ones might actually be there willingly so it was fun to just walk around and look for blooms. Unfortunately, it was not blooming season for Phalaenopsis or Paphiopedilum so none were photographed.

This is Plocoglottis plicata and is my favourite orchid from Mulu. They are very common and are found everywhere around the park, including along the established trails. It is terrestrial and has these great intense white spots on the dark green foliage with bright yellow flowers.

   

Another terrestrial orchid from Mulu. This is Habenaria elatius and was found gorwing wild in the leaf litter.

A jewel orchid from Mulu, and this is most likely Dossinia marmorata.

There were two Bulbophyllum species in flower at Mulu this time and I actually caught one of these blooming in situ, during the canopy walk. The picture I took on the canopy walk was blurry but I found another one in flower on my walk and took a closeup: my guess is that this is Bulbophyllum auratum.

Still trying to ID these individuals so do leave a comment or PM me if you have any ideas for these.

1. Bulbophyllum sp.

2. Appendicula sp.

3. Flickingeria sp.

4. Liparis sp.

5. Appendicula sp.

6. Polystachya sp.