64 



mid-mountain forests and is common everywhere on the the handsome yellow terminal panicles are found, Sali, 

 • main island between 2,000 and 4,000 feet. There is also No. 569, Cyr Tandra sp., is one of the large trees of the 



Araucaria Klinkii Xo. 642. 



Both these " pines " 



midmountain forests, yielding a hard heavy timber with 

 are very conspicuous for they are driven to the rocky an interlocked grain. Kweta (Alstonia macrophylla 

 spurs and knife-edge ridges by the less hardy and more No. 571) is easily confounded with either of the low 

 leafy species and there they stand out against the sky country Alstonia, the wood is very similar, and in spite 

 in a most imposing manner. It is by no means the of the name the leaves are about as big. 



most common species of the midmountain forest but 

 it is the most conspicuous. All the oaks occur here and 



A big Lauraceae is Turama, with its fine spreading 

 crown and tall symetrical unbuttressed bole. Its wood 



in places they are very numerous, making up 40-55 per is very attractive — a good cabinet wood of dark brown 



cent, of the standing stock. Several surveys of this colour. A little tree with a wide range and a lovely 



type of forest were made, but unfortunately these data flower, which I omitted to mention as climbing from 



were destroyed in the looting of my Eamu base camp the foothill to 7,000 feet, is Schurmansia Henningsii, 



and I must again rely on my memory, I have not even K. Sch. The only difference is that on the inidmoun- 



the botanical and wood specimens, for these were also tain region it is frankly a third story tree, while lower 



destroyed. Fortunately, my diary of the Sarawaket down we find it on the edge of rain forest and foothill 



climbs was recovered and that contained some informa- forest or in grass land fully exposed to light. Anoni- 



tion and data of a survey. 



The forests behind Finsch-hafen are not quite the 

 characteristic midmountain type and so the figures of 

 stocking must not be accepted as applying to forests in 



A \ ~ ^_ 



oides pulchra with its chestnut-like seed vessels is rather 

 common. It grows into a big: tree. The timber works 

 easily and has 



a pretty quarter grain. 



The oaks 



already described in the Papuan section are quite 



the mountain at the source of the Bamu. One very ™f 8 throughout this region, and Mr. Helbig, ot 

 important difference is the complete absence of the two Sattleberfc utilizes the bark of two of them to make 



Araucarias after you pass what might be called the lea * her for the mlssl011 1 cobbll, y ■ . . . + - . 



- - ° A very common undergrowth in the oak stands is a 



Cyrtandra, though it seems to thrive best under Quer- 



cus Junghuhni, which often makes a pure forest. A 



beautiful creeper with port wine coloured flowers. 



Coastal range. Beyond Sattlcberg, which 



is about 



3,000 feet high, the Araucarias were very rare. A de- 

 scription of these forests is, I think, necessary. 



Midmouxtaix Forests ox the South-Eastern End makes a fine show from 3,000 to 5,000 feet — i>; is Dich- 



OF FlNISTERRE IvANGE. 



As one rises from the old farm second giowth, and 



rotrichum Chalmersii, F. v. M., No. 572. 



fV new Hoya, No. 566, Eu-Hoya sp., is another orna 



enters the midmountain forest, one is struck by the mental creeper. A tree of the fig family, which in 

 number of purely rain forest species that still persist. Papua was found only along the banks of watercourses, 

 Of these the most common and highest climber is Al- is Damnaropsis kingiana, No. 550; in the mountains of 

 stoma scholaris and A, longissima. It is hard to dis- New Guinea it is to be found on rather dry and very 



steep slopes. It springs up where the mid-mountain 

 forest has been destroyed, and with its immense leaves 



tinguish the one from the other and the difficulty is 

 accentuated when at a higher altitude one -finds kweta 



(A. macrophylla, Wall, No. 571). Homalanthus popu- is a very conspicuous little tree. 



lifolius is a little tree that seems to find itself just as 



Of the ground covers of the forest of this region the 



much at home at 6,000 feet as at sea level — its prettily Urticaceae are the most prominent. They are all un- 



coloured spade shaped leaves make it a showy tree mistakably of the nettle family, although they vary in 



Vnother rain forest species is Celtis philippinensis, but size and in appearance a great deal. The largest — the 



its limit would seem to be around 4,500 feet. Mussaenda 

 frondosa, a climber that spots with its cream bracts the 

 dark green of the lowland forest, is also found at 



giant-leafed ground nettle — stands 2 ft. 6 in. high; bo- 

 tanically it is called Cypholophus pachycarpus H. 

 Winkl., No. 547. Then there is one with a large but 



7,000 feet among the podocarpus and dacrydium. The acuminate leaf called Pilea pellis-crocodili, No. 540. 



variety met with is glabriflora. Gnetum gnemon and Another with as big a leaf but not so pointed a one 



its affinities flourishes up to 7,000 feet also, and is much is Elatostema macrophyllum Brong. var. Majusculum 



prized by the natives for both the o;roon food its young K. Sch., No. 539. Then there is a_ smalljpointed 

 leaves yield, and the excellent cordage fibre for net 

 making that its bast provides. A treelet of the foot- 



hill vegetation and midmountain forest is the common 

 Dodonea viscosa, and the clambering fern Gleichenia 

 dichotoma is common to both regions. I also found 

 it right up above the moss forests at 11,000 feet, so it 



has a wide range in altitude. 



leafed one known as E. sesquifolium Hassk, Xo. 541. 

 The very small-leafed nettles, so small as to look like 

 maiden-hair, are not found as low as this, but I 

 will come to them when we reach the moss forest. 

 On the upper limits of the mid-mountain belt are 

 to be found two exquisite Rhodendrons. R. Car- 

 ringtoniae, No. 527, has a fragrant, very showy 



• n(n^ ™„;« ***** + ^c* i**„ a m „ 4.x, q I* -i tvhite flower. R. Hansemannii Warb., No. 531, has a 



Ihe mam new trees iound in the oarawaket mid- n n n ^ TT r - ni4«.*'i-i 



mountain forests were : Podocarpus a mar a Blume, a 



fine yellow flower. R. Warianum Schlecter is a climb- 



i aM * „™;-r™. v;ni,i;,u, « -.,^1 *u«* r t M a • -n 1Il ff> Scrambling shrub with pale-pink trumpets. While 



large cornier yielding a wood that 1 iound impossible °' -. x . 7 £ , ..- - f « * . , l ' T . 



+^ l' n f^ mi ; n i 4?,.™ p ,^ ::* i;« /x> q^\ -rr • ' on the subject. 01 beautilul flowering plants, I must 



to distinguish trom 1. nerntolius (lap. 377). luiri ,• ,1 J n . i -. mi & ' } ,- 



fj„A~4. at^ rzo\ ; „ ™„r „; i -u a 1 \c 2 ± mention the glorious balsams. Ihe genus Impahens 



(lndet. JNo. 553) is a medium-sized broad-leaied tree , +T 1-4.1 & a % 1 on. 



The 



• it- m 1: 1 , ' *, 1 ir , , . xl stars the ground m the most wonderful way. 



yielding a light sottwood. Mutzurumtzu 13 the name 1. j A r 1 i, lV J <. 



~t» M 1™ +1, „ n +:„„ 4.^ + i^ ^r, 1^ r 1 j r .i shades ot colour compassed by this genus ranges from a 



given by the native to the sott-leated podocarp ot the _ i.-* *i u • -l. x x -i.. 



t>i m; • t> ^„^ • « 1 • 1 4-1 • ii j.i P ure ^'hite through pink to a mauve or to a scarlet. 



Philippines 1. cupressma. Avluch thrives all over the \ + i r -i i- 1 jj +i * A i i \ r ,1 



1 . 1 rr . • /nyy 1 1 . AT . . . I . Another family which adds greatlv to the beauty of the 



high mountains 01 JNew (jriunea. JSgangi is a big tree, ^ „ a4 . • + l (r 7 ^ a i •- i • 1 u 



w ^ n .nm-foi. «*A u «^m. n ^ nni. ^ La J • ??"?' 1S tlie MdatamaetM. A white and a pink Me- 



but not a conifer and it yields a pale coloured, rathei 

 hard wood. Mang or Hadu (Himantandra Belgrave- 



dinella are perhaps the most striking of this beautiful 

 order owing to their fine flowers, but there are other 



ana Jftfflu Bo. 568) is of the Magnolia family and g ,. nera whose wide Leavily-veined 'leaves are very orna- 



related to the Drynus that grows in the moss forest a mentaL The t dig i tate -l e afed Aralia (Schefflera sp, 



tew thousand ieet higher. at^ kaf\ •« ±~ i i* 1 i v Ti • i 



. & JNo. 546) is to be iound everywhere. It is a large, 



Eugenia and Calophyllum are represented by sev- woody climber, which reaches to the crowns of the 



eral species, but lack of flowering material make their 

 closer identification impossible. White Kania eugeni* 

 oides is easily mistaken for either of these genera until 



highest trees. The cactus creeper Muchlenbeckia platy- 

 cloda Meiss, ]STo. 551, that I found growing on the fig 

 trees around Laruni, in Papua, thrives also in the 



