A sunny November afternoon

Too good to be true and too good to go to waste! Got in the car and drove down Kuching-Sri Aman road. I contemplated driving to a spot to take some photos of wild Vanda hookeriana but only had half a day and the journey takes about 5 or 6 hours return. In the end, just went for a leisurely drive and took this photo. It didn’t matter if I got any good shots, as long as I didn’t have to stay chained to a computer indoors when it was sunny outside in November!

 

A rice field along the Kuching-Sri Aman road. That is part of the Klinkang Range in the background. According to the STB website, the Batang Lupar (Lupar River), home of an infamous man-eater croc, Bujang Senang, flows from this range.

 

Wonder if there are trails up this range. Looks like a mighty interesting place to explore…

 

Along the way, I stopped by the roadside to explore a kerangas. I was wearing only shorts and crocs and had not packed any repellent so I didn’t get to walk further than a few tens of meters before being chased out by a billion mosquitoes hungry for city-blood.

 

Originally, I had intended to drive to Matang to photograph Coelogyne in situ, as well as the many waterfalls there. I wore shorts as I planned to go for a dip in the mountain river (Sungai Cina) after the short hike. I changed my mind and thought I’d drive to the west towards Sri Aman instead.

 

Anyway, even if I didn’t get to take many photos or do any real exploring, it was good to be away from the computer. It’s not always we get sunny afternoons this time of the year.

November orchids: Coelogyne foerstermannii

I actually missed a number of blooms last month, blooms from a few of my Bulbophyllum, Eria and other orchid species.

This month, with the start of the monsoon, many orchids in my “jungle” are flowering. Managed to take some photos and here’s the first species, Coelogyne foerstermannii.


This is an old photo, my first Coelogyne foerstermannii inflorescence!


This is a current bloom. In my experience, this species is not an easy or regular bloomer. I waited two years for this one to bloom. They usually bloom en masse in the wild.


The flowers are very fragrant. To me, they smell like pandan coconuts.


Not a new inflorescence, I was a bit too late to take better photos.


This one is grown on a tree and is smaller than the potted ones. Grown like this, it is maintenance free.


Also a bit too late to take any good photos, many blooms chewed by snails and bugs.

I grow them mounted on tree fern, in a pot with coconut husk, charcoal and bricks as well as tagged to a tree. There is also a large clump grown in a coconut husk pot (bought like that) which surprisingly is doing very well. I had thought the coconut husk would be too wet but didn’t bother re-potting it as it’s grown to a large size.

In situ photos
Often see this species in the wild, growing high up in the trees. Some branches are totally covered with them. Sometimes I come across plants which had fallen to the ground on rotten branches. Many die or start to rot on the dark and damp forest floor.


A tree trunk full of orchids, most likely Coelogyne foerstermannii.


A dead tree with branches full of Coelogyne foerstermannii and other small orchids.


When a tree with orchids, like this one with Coelogyne foerstermannii (photographed in Kalimantan, Indonesia) falls to the ground, the orchids on it often rot as well. This is because there is little light on the forest floor. It also gets very wet during the rainy season.



I often see them growing high up in the trees, so this was quite a surprise. Coelogyne foerstermannii growing on limestone! :D



Following below are two beautiful photos taken recently by my friend Michael Lo, of this species flowering in the wild. Visit his website by clicking here.


Fantastic species which blooms en masse in the wild. Photo by Michael Lo.


A tree full of Coelogyne foerstermannii. Photo by Michael Lo.