Saturday, November 28, 2009

Orchids on fallen trees

All the photos in this post were taken in a single day’s outing to a limestone forest. They are of orchids on fallen or felled trees as well as on rotting branches on the forest floor. Also came across other orchids but they will be posted in a separate entry. As always, click for larger size.

Had to be very careful photographing the orchids. There was one tree which fell across a wide chasm with very sharp limestone around it. Risk of being cut, impaled or thrown off balance into the chasm. I actually fell at another spot when I stepped on a rotten branch. I landed flat on my torso. Had there been sharp protruding limestone beneath, I wouldn’t be here writing this. Scary thought…

Friend took photos of me in various precarious positions while photographing but I haven’t seen them. Probably go weak in the knees if I did. Friend himself fell down a chasm once, thankfully it wasn’t too deep. He was crossing a fallen tree trunk and it broke! Hmm… yep, scary thought.

Also saw two small snakes, one struck out and thankfully missed when I almost stepped on it! Both the same type, dark greenish brown, looked like vipers but vipers don’t normally move that fast?

Besides those pictured here, there were also lots and lots of Flickingeria species other small orchids on the fallen trees.


9680_orchids_on_fallen_trees
When I first saw this, I thought it was a bird’s nest.


9681_orchids_on_fallen_trees
It turned out to be a ball of mini Bulbophyllum orchids! There’s also Dischidia in there.

9682_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Eria orchids. There’s Coelogyne as well but most have died.

9683_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Coelogyne, Eria and Liparis species.

9684_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Oberonia species, about to flower too.

9685_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Sharp limestone!

9686_orchids_on_fallen_trees
In a dark place, these won’t survive long, especially with the rainy season that’s just arrived.

9687_orchids_on_fallen_trees
A small Eria species with very cute little flowers.

9688_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Size of of Eria sp. flowers compared to finger tip.

9690_orchids_on_fallen_trees
This is a crop of a photo taken with my pocket digicam. Click for larger size.

9691_orchids_on_fallen_trees
And this, a crop from a photo taken on my Oly e510 with Sigma 105mm macro lens. Compared to the pocket digicam crop, like day and night. Click for larger size.

9692_orchids_on_fallen_trees
A busy little ant visiting each flower.

9693_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Quite a few were in flower.

9694_orchids_on_fallen_trees
There’s that busy ant again.

9695_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Coelogyne foerstermannii orchids are commonly found on large trees high in the canopy or growing on the tree trunks. When they come down with a crashing forest giant, they often die off from what I have observed. Strange because high in the tree tops, they get a lot of light too, a bit of direct sun an hour or two a day shouldn’t cause them to die off like this. This large fallen tree left a big void in the canopy but direct sunlight shouldn’t last for more than a couple hours in this spot.

9696_orchids_on_fallen_trees
This looks like the common Bulbophyllum vaginatum.

9697_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Coelogyne foerstermannii. Many of the pseudobulbs were starting to blacken. Perhaps baked by sudden direct sunlight.

9698_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Lycopodium or Club fern, Bulbophyllum  and other unidentified species.

9699_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Wonder what these are? Thrixspermum?

9700_orchids_on_fallen_trees
A closer look.

9701_orchids_on_fallen_trees
This type of Lycopodium (four-angled lyco) is not as common as the Cat’s tail lyco.

9702_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Funny and true short - while visiting a wild orchids and plants garden, one of the staff there saw me looking at a Lycopodium species and told me it was also an orchid. :D

9703_orchids_on_fallen_trees
What could that orchid be in the center of the pic?

9704_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Curious! Very curious!

9705_orchids_on_fallen_trees
What is it? Some kind of Porpax?

9706_orchids_on_fallen_trees
This isn’t an orchid, it’s a kind of ant plant.

9707_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Another fallen tree and broken branches.

9708_orchids_on_fallen_trees
A healthy survivor (shaded from direct sun). Note the dead cluster of Coelogyne foerstermannii p-bulbs on the left.

9709_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Here’s that curious Porpax-like orchid again. Had to brace myself against a limestone wall for this shot (without flash) as it was pretty dark in the forest.

9710_orchids_on_fallen_trees
On a fallen trunk.

9711_orchids_on_fallen_trees
And one more photo taken with flash.

9712_orchids_on_fallen_trees
A fallen branch with a dendro. Most probably the common and widespread Dendrobium secundum. Note when I say common, I mean often seen by me, not common like pigeon-orchid (Dendrobium crumenatum) common!

9713_orchids_on_fallen_trees
These very tall trees growing in the limestone hill forest swayed left and right when strong winds blew through. Quite alarming to look at, we were glad to be out of there! It’s small wonder why trees often fall or break especially where there is so little soil to hold on to. Amazing that they grow to such heights in the first place, given the very poor soil conditions.

9714_orchids_on_fallen_trees
This tree looked like it had been dead for years. There was a single clump of Coelogyne swaniana with seed pod on it.

9715_orchids_on_fallen_trees
There was also this clump of Eria species (looks like Eria leiophylla) sitting in a fork.

9716_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Dark clouds! The weather in this time of year is highly unpredictable. Sunny one moment, cloudy and very windy the next.

9717_orchids_on_fallen_trees
A dead tree and a tangle of broken branches.

9718_orchids_on_fallen_trees
This broken branch has what looks like Liparis gibbosa on it.

9719_orchids_on_fallen_trees
Bulbophyllum species.


Will post photos of other orchids next. They include 4 kinds of jewel orchids, Neuwiedia, Appendicula, Habenaria and other species including one I have never seen before.

4 comments:

  1. It's all a part of nature, but it still makes me sad, seeing all these poor helpless plants stranded, unable to pick themselves up and move to better locations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. yes, it's part of the cycle of life in the forest. old trees fall, new ones quickly grow and fill the void.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi.A very nice blog.I am orchid lover specially sp.I bought orkid telinga gajah @ bulbo beccari at Sariken last year and grow well at my place Melaka. Do you have any picture of beccari in nature?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi henry, u should write the book! I adore your writing & photos...

    ReplyDelete