Orchid Book Preview 2

Orchids

WILD

OF CAMERON HIGHLANDS

REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CAMERON HIGHLANDS

Orchids

WILD

OF CAMERON HIGHLANDS

REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CAMERON HIGHLANDS

A community based project on environmental conservation and awareness

First published February 2009

CONTENTS 07 Prologue Cameron Highlands 11 A hill resort The montane forest 16 Montane forests 18 Biodiversity hotspot in the highlands 21 Cameron Highlands; an orchid haven The Orchid family 25 Orchidaceae a family like no other Orchids in the wild 30 Terrestrial Orchids 71 Saprophytic Orchids 77 Epiphytic Orchids 166 A whole lot more! Threats to orchids 182 Development and land clearing 184 Illegal orchid poaching Conservation 189 Why protect the natural rainforest? 190 Conservation efforts of REACH 192 Ecotourism; plays a vital role 193 REACH orchid team 194 A new discovery 196 Lost and found 197 Photographing orchids 198 Index 201

Glossary

202

Acknowledgements

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Let the rivers run free.

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Coelogyne kaliana Flower Size 2.5cm

This is another lovely Coelogyne orchid. This epiphyte has pseudo-bulbs carrying long, pendulous, 4 to 12 flowered inflorescences. The flowers are predominantly white. Sepals and petals are snow white. Lips are white on the outer surface but brown on the inner surface which is streaked with white veins. The ‘landing pad’ on the lip is a bright attractive yellow to lure insects. This species is found in Peninsular Malaysia in montane forests. They live on shrubs, tree trunks and large branches at elevations of 1650 to 2000 meters.

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Monkey cups basking in the sun on the mountain peak of Gunung Brinchang.

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Coelogyne dayana Flower Size 2.5cm

Its striking feature is the very generous white lip with brown stripes. The lip has 2 keels and the terminal part of the lip has a rough surface. The sepals and petals are a peach-brown. This species is relatively large with pseudobulbs around 20 cm and leaves about 10 cm. The inflorescence is about half to one metre long with many flowers blooming at one time. They are distributed in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.

Wild orchid families

EPIPHYTIC ORCHIDS

Bulbophyllum aeolium, this extraordinary orchid occurs in hill and lower montane forests.

Bulbophyllum Bulbophyllum is the largest genus in the orchid family with about 2000 species. There are at least 200 species recorded in Cameron Highlands. The scientific name comes from the Latin word ‘bulbus’ meaning bulb-like and the Greek word ‘pyhllon’ meaning leaf. This is in reference to the pseudobulbs from which the leaves emerge. This is a broad genus of mainly epiphytic plants of varying sizes. The vegetative forms range from tall, cane-like plants, root climbers that cling onto trees and occasionally rock surfaces to pendulous plants. The flowers are borne on inflorescences that arise from the base of the pseudobulbs or the rhizomes. The plants are sympodials with wide variations in the bulbs, leaves and flowers. However the basic criteria for this genus is that the pseudobulbs are single-node, the inflorescences are basal and the lips mobile. The flowers emit an odour of rotting carcasses,

perfect for attracting flies, their usual pollinators. The plants prefer the cool shade of the rainforest and occur on trees by riverbanks and on hill-slopes. They are found both in the lowlands and in the highlands. Generally, however they are found growing in small clusters or climbers in small colonies on tree trunks or branches between the mid-storey to the canopy level. Sometimes they appear in the most common and unusual of places like on lamp posts, rooftops and crevices right smack in the town centre. The genus includes epiphytes, terrestrial and some lithophytic species. They are distributed in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, Central and South America. The above picture was taken by Antony, with him balancing precariously on the tree branches 5 metres above the ground!

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Bulbophyllum virescens Flower Size 30cm

Words cannot adequately describe this wonderful flower, which is yet another proof of Mother Nature’s creative genius. The flowers numbering 6 to 8 are beautifully arranged in a circle to form a crown of greenish-yellow. The sepals are long and tapering with dark green veins. The petals are narrower than the sepals and their ends are almost whisker-like. The lip resembles a lolling tongue of white with a dark purple centre. They are found in the Peninsular Malaysia, the Moluccas and Sumatra at elevations of around 760 to 1000 meters.