Bumi yang tiada udara
Bagai tiada nyawa
Pasti hilang suatu hari
Tanpa disedari
(Hijau, Zainal Abidin, 1998)
Translation:
An Earth that's without air
Is as good as being lifeless
She will disappear someday
Without our notice.
(11th – 18th May 2009)
What if you were told that, to reach this waterfall above, you would need to trek continuously for 6 hours? Of course, there’s a chance that you will go hungry and your legs will start to beg for a rest. Just a while, they say. But deep down you know, that once seated and getting your hunger satiated before reaching the falls, the less determined you will be be to reach it. So, what’s the verdict? For us, we started out early at 8:45 in the morning, hoping to reach the Tajor Waterfalls by 12. If not, the latest was estimated to be at 1 noon.
Never did I imagine that the trails (consisting of the Lintang Trail, the Bukit Gondol Trail, the Paya Jelutong Trail, the Bukit Kruning Trail, and the Tajor Trail) would lead us walking till 3 in the afternoon. Thank goodness for the shade and shelter provided by the forest canopy. :) But, whatever aches that I accumulated along the way was swept away once my eyes fell on the flowing white curtain of water that cascaded from the nooks and crannies of the rocks at Tajor. Talk about being therapeutic!
As usual, we were greeted by the sight of Bearded Pigs (Sus barbatus) as we left our cabin for breakfast early in the morn. These swine (it’s the fad nowadays.. lol) get their name from the yellowish whiskers on the side of the face and over the bridge of the nose; hence their common name.
1) Latin: Sus = "pig"
2) Latin: barbatus = "bearded"
Apparently, the body of this particular pig is the slenderest form among pigs, and it is supported by thin twig of legs. With their diet comprising of fruits, it’s no wonder that they are often found following groups of gibbons or macaques, then feeding on the fruit that has been gnawed once upon and has then fallen to the ground right after [1]. And it’s true, right on the area (the cabins’ location) where the bearded pigs feasted on, were fruits that fell and got strewn when the macaques high-up shook and rattled the trees after their many bouts of jumping and leaping antics.
Speaking about feeding, this reminds me of a.. how should I say.. unique behaviour of the male Sus. The feeling is subjective, it all depends on how you see it, my friend Mindy would say. =) On our last day of our stay in Bako National Park, we got to see the male pig licking the urine of the female as it gushed like tap water from her ‘watering hole’. After digging a bit, it seems that urine can contain pheromones or chemical substances that change in the course of the oestrus cycle.
Unlike the female human way of dropping subtle hints (batting eyelashes and coquettishness as being noted by some) to entice their male counterparts, this is more like waving a flag with a ‘I’m In Heat’ emblazoned across in hot red. No reading between the lines there. So in order to know the status of females, males will lick the urine of the gentler sex to investigate their oestrous status. In fact, as some of the research conducted on pandas, the males are said to be able to discriminate the female reproductive condition on the basis of the chemical cues [2]. Wonder if this include male Homo sapiens? :)
(Left): According to some, it’s said the side view of the Pigeon Orchid flower resembles a flying pigeon. Well, after rotating the picture 180 degrees, it certainly looked somewhat like one, I must say. :) Other common names include the Bag-shaped Dendrobium. This latter would be more accurate, if its specific epithet crumenatum is used as basis. *nods*
1) Latin: crumena (= a leather pouch that held money and was secured by a strap around a Roman's neck)
(Right): When trekking through the Lintang trail, it’s not surprising to catch sight of the Orchid Pigeon (Dendrobium crumenatum) flanking the sides of the white, sandy trails. In Singapore, this orchid is the most common. In fact, it can be found growing naturally in the branches of older trees. Besides that, it’s also planted by the Parks & Recreation Department onto street trees [3].
(Left): Another pretty bloom from the orchid of the genus Dendrobium sp. As described with Latin, the Dendrobium sp. is "one that lives in the trees” or an epiphyte.
1) Greek: dendron “tree”
2) Greek: bios “life”
To differentiate this genus from the rest in the Family Orchidaceae, here are some of the genus characteristics:
(a) Plants may have a group of leaf-bearing axes, which are either (i) cespitose or (ii) at the end on the branches of sympodial ramificant rhizomes.
(b) The leaf-bearing axes may bear from one apical to numerous distichous leaves. The leaves are generally rather thin, but in a few species these are leathery thick and/or laterally compressed.
(c) The inflorescence(s) can be lateral, sub-apical or apical, few to many flowered [4].
Definition:
-> cespitose = growing in dense tufts
-> sympodial = Primary axis that develops from a series of short lateral branches and often has a zigzag/irregular form
-> ramificant = branch-shaped
-> distichous = leaves arranged in two vertical rows on opposite sides of an axis
(Right): Another orchid which colours reminded my friend of the traffic-light popsicle that was found on our way to the falls was the Coelogyne septemcostata. Its generic name Coelogyne is derived from its concave stigma – the part which receives the pollen [5]. And on the same lines, its specific name can be literally translated to “7 ribs”. I am not sure why though. >_<
1) Greek: koilos (coel) “hollow”
2) Greek: gyne “woman”
3) Latin: septem “seven”
4) Latin: costata “with ribs/ribbed”
For the Coelogyne, its distinct genus characteristics include [6]:
(a) Plants may be large and epiphytic
(b) Flowers are often have showy and delicately coloured.
(c) Pseudobulbs are usually ovoid, conical or cylindrical from which 1 or 2 leaves arise at the apex.
(d) Leaves are broad, elliptic and plicate.
Definition:
-> pseudobulb = storage organ (nutrients & water) derived from the part of a stem between 2 leaf nodes
-> apex = tip
-> plicate = folded like a fan
Looking back at this picture, I am not too fussy that this image of the Bulbophyllum sp. turned out kinda blurred. But it was the best I could do under breezy and lack-of-light conditions. With just one small puff, the stalk that held this bloom swayed back and forth like a compass gone haywire… lol.
One feature of major significance is that the inflorescence (or collection of blooms) always arises from the base of a pseudobulb or from nodes on the rhizome. That means, instead growing from the top of the pseudobulb, it sprouts from underneath like the pretty thing above. :) However, depending on the species, the flowers may/may not be fragrant. In fact, it can even smell downright disgusting [7].
(Left): As can be seen from this picture of the Bulbophyllum gracillimum orchid, the scientific name – Bulbophyllum sp. is derived from the pseudobulbs on which the leaf is growing [8]. Each pseudobulb bears a solitary, terminal leaf.
1) Latin: bulbus “bulb-like”
2) Greek: phyllon “leaf”
(Right): A rare bulbophyllum from Borneo, the Bulbophyllum beccarii is by far the largest species in its genus. Its huge bowl-shaped leaves are designed to catch falling debris and turn it into fertilizers. The inflorescence is produced from the rhizome near one of the pseudobulbs and hangs downwards to about 20-22cm. Although it is comprised of hundreds of small sweet-looking yellowish flowers netted with red, the blossoms of the B. beccarii is one bulbophyllum that stinks to attract various flies [9].
(Left): Other orchids include this Dendrochilum sp. which the guys found growing on top of Mount. Santubong. Noticed the brown protrusions that is attached to every blossom on the dangling stalk? I presumed that’s the lip which led to the derivation of the name of the genus, Dendrochilum sp. But ambiguity still exists in this case. Here’s why [10]:
1) Greek: dendron “tree”
2) Greek: cheilos “lip” @ chilos “green food – possibly, referring to its epiphytic growth”
Some distinctive characteristics of this genus are [11]:
(a) The plants can be either epiphytic or lithophytic (plant growing on stone).
(b) The flowers are mostly very small but are produced in considerable numbers in long, dense, often distinctly two-ranked racemes.
Definition:
-> raceme = an inflorescence having stalked flowers arranged singly along an elongated unbranched axis
Outcrops of sandstone wall face were rather abundant when we walked through the 1st hour via Lintang trail. With staircases and painted signs to guide us through the uneven surfaces and our way, the journey was pretty much a walk in the park compared to Santubong. This does not include the one time we had to inch our way through a foot-wide ledge in order to continue on on the (at least) 13km trail.
(Left): Asterisk markings were found engraved on the black-brown sandstones. I ain’t sure what caused this but I will try to send an email to my Geog professor to find out more.
Other than wasteland habitats, there were also swamps and muddy mangrove areas. Pools like the one above were quite a sight. Turned a reddish-bronze due to the leachate of tannic acid from fallen leaves, the colour combination of it with the emerald Dipteris lobbiana and the turquoise skies looked almost surreal as it shimmered just beneath my mud-caked sole.
While traipsing through the tropical rainforest area, my first bump-in with a terrestrial crab took place! And as one of the guys picked it up, we then saw tiny lil’ babies scuttling frantically beneath the belly of the female crab. I am not sure if a mummy crab harbouring her babies beneath her is an usual occurrence since the identity of the crab was a mystery to yours truly and her 4 seniors.
(Left): Easily distinguished from other 3 species of its genus (Johannesteijsmannia) with its narrow leaf form, the Johannesteijsmannia lanceolata palm or the Slender Joey is the rarest amongst all. The genus name of the palm is derived from the 19th century Dutch botanist Johannes Teijsmann, hence its peculiarity (not to mention, a real tongue-twister too). =)
(Right): The foremost waterfall of the Tajor Falls, before it pooled and broke into smaller cascades like the one above (the first picture of the entry).
Lying on her back, Princess Santubong is a magnificent sight against the sunset backdrop. I will be back again, hopefully, in the not-so-far future. :)
Once again, a big thanks to Alvin, Kai-Xin, Wee Foong and Alex for their patience and quick lessons in a crash course in ecology. Just around the corner is never just around the corner for them. :)
Reference:
1. http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Sus_barbatus.html
3. http://www.science.edu.sg/ssc/detailed.jsp?artid=3861&type=4&root=246&parent=246&cat=248
4. http://www.orchidspng.com/Dendrobium.html
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelogyne
6. http://www.orchidspng.com/Coelogyne.html
7. http://www.orchidspng.com/Bulbophyllum.html
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbophyllum
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbophyllum_beccarii
I <3 the waterfall!!
ReplyDeleteYeap, me too!! :)
ReplyDeletepigeon orchid.. not orchid pigeon...
ReplyDeletethe latter sounds like a species of pigeon
Oops, blooper. Thanks for pointing it out. :)
ReplyDeleteeheh... same as usual, love the photos!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I guess the Hijau is the first Malay song which I love. I like that song still, very very meaningful.