East & West of Batang Sadong

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"STOPPED THE CAR NOW!!! I saw something on the durian tree!!!"

Everyone in the car was shocked when one of my outdoor friends shouted at us and pointed the finger at the durian tree (Durio spp.). At that time, we're exploring in the remote area near the swamp of west side of Batang Sadong using 4 x 4 vehicle.

There is no durian on the tree as the fruiting season is over.....but, our eyes & mouths are wide opened when we saw the rare species of staghorn fern, Platycerium ridleyi !!!



A "baby" P. ridleyi on the tree's branch.





Gosh!!! We felt like we won the lottery & quickly ran to toward the durian tree and we found a fallen tree branch where 2 young P. ridleyi growing on it. This species of fern mostly grow very high above the ground on the big tree. It is named after Henry Nicholas Ridley, the director of Singapore Botanic Garden (from 1888 to 1912).

The P. ridleyi on the fallen tree branch (going to die soon as the ground is too damp & not much sunlight)

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It is not easy to cultivate this fern....and worst, it is very expensive & rare. The below photo below is P. ridleyi cultivated by my friend by attaching on the woods & hang on the wall. In the wild, this fern wrapped themselves like a cabbage around the tree branches.




Another not uncommon species of staghorn fern is this Platycerium coronarium....the pix below is cultivated by my friend:






Sago palm, Metroxylon sagu. This palm is very common in the swampy area of Borneo.





The rainy season is almost over but yet the water level is still very high. Betta ibanrorum is found abundantly in this blackwater stream:

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Collecting the floating plant, Spirodela punctata by hanging on the bridge!!! This aquatic floating plant should be an introduced species.





The bamboo bridge & the hut. The common aroid on the right is Colocasia esculenta. It is an introduced species to Borneo. It can be found almost anywhere in south east asia.





In the blackwater swamp, we also found this aroid named after Sarawak: Alocasia sarawakensis





The beautiful inflorescence of Alocasia sarawakensis.

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The modern Iban's (sea Dayak people) longhouse near a blackwater river:





The storage jars of Iban people.





The hand-made basket of Iban people:

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Dyakia mackensiana ?? The genus name, Dyakia (Dyak = Dayak) is named after the Dayak people of Borneo. First time found this species in Batang Sadong basin.







Buah Rambai (NOT buah langat):





The close-up of delicious buah rambai:

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Last location: a freshwater swamp in eastern Batang Sadong basin. I came back to this swamp again to show my friends that our swamp is not a "wasteland" but full of beautiful flora & fauna. The pandan plant (Pandanus sp.) is growing abundantly here:






The red dwarf fighting fish, Betta brownorum. This adult fish is only 3.5cm long !!!





Cryptocoryne longicauda, a common species of aquatic aroid from Borneo:

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Saturday trip: A day visit to Sungai Aban; the link:

http://www.ibanorum.netfirms.com/Aban.htm


A cascade at Sungai Aban:

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More photos; here:

http://www.ibanorum.netfirms.com/eastwestsadong.htm