cesa, and from Puerto Princesa to Roxas, in the north. 

 This road continues north along the east coast to 

 Taytay and beyond, towards the northern tip; but 

 beyond Roxas it is safely passable only during the dry 

 season (February to May). The west coast may be 

 reached from the east coast at three points. 



Along the east coast, limited roads, built by min- 

 ing and timber concession companies, connect a num- 

 ber of towns with points located at the base of the east- 

 em mountain slopes, such as from Puerto Princesa, 

 from Aborlan, and from Nara. Where these roads start 

 winding up the mountain slopes, they may be negoti- 

 ated only by 4-wheel-drive vehicles. Few bridges have 

 been constructed, so that motor vehicles usually have 

 to ford rivers and stream beds. Other than by roads, 

 access to forested areas is along forest paths and trails by 

 foot. 



Our expedition headquarters was established at 

 Puerto Princesa, from which short trips (3-7 days) were 

 made to various forested regions. Temporary bases, set 

 up in different collecting areas, consisted of tents in 

 the forest, of lodging houses in nearby towns, or of 

 thatched houses near the collecting sites. 



Field work mobility was provided by a rented Jeef)- 

 ney, a jeep/ truck/minibus hybrid specially built for per- 

 sonnel transport. The spacious rear benches could 

 accommodate large amounts of equipment and 

 passengers at the same time, while the high chassis 

 clearance and the powerful engine made it possible to 

 cover terrains otherwise appropriate only for 4-wheel- 

 drive vehicles. Though the Jeepney didn't have this last 

 feature, it was able to negotiate the forested and top- 

 ographically difficult terrains. It was our experience, 

 however, that the ]eepney is not the ideal vehicle for 

 such travel during the rainy season. 



Health conditions in Puerto Princesa and other 

 large towns of Palawan are generally good, and Puerto 

 Princesa has an adequately staffed hospital. In most 

 towns, running water is available either from private 

 wells or from a municipal system. In smaller villages 

 and in forested areas, water is obtained from rivers and 

 streams. The major infectious disease still prevalent on 

 the island is malaria. With this in mind, we took every 

 precaution to avoid contracting it during our stay. 



Given the short time that was available to accom- 

 plish all our objectives, and the heavy, almost daily 

 monsoon rains (mostly in the afternoons) during the 

 expedition period, a large field staff, including four 

 worker-tree climbers and a driver-cook, was recruited. 



Collecting was done in four main areas: the Ira- 



wan River Valley, the Takdua Zig-zag, the Trident 

 Mine area at Victoria Range, and on Tabon Island. 

 Minor collections as part of area surveys for future col- 

 lecting were also made in the Langugan Zig-zag, Pagda- 

 nan Range, and Mt. Bloomfield at St. Paul's Bay. More 

 than 200 species and slightly more than 400 samples of 

 flowering plants were collected altogether. Identifica- 

 tion of most of the specimens has now been completed 

 at herbaria of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, the Philip- 

 pine National Museum, and the Field Museum. 



The Irawan Valley collection site is at the foot of Mt. 

 Beaufort, between 100 and 200 meters above sea level, 

 north-northwest of Puerto Princesa. Although this site 

 is only about 16 miles from the capital city, it took 

 more than an hour to reach because of bad road con- 



A special hand-operated chopper 

 was developed for the expedition. 



ditions. The forest road, built by a chromite mining 

 company, is part gravel, part rock, and part muddy 

 tracks. It crosses and recrosses the meandering Irawan 

 River eleven times, and after heavy rains the river is 

 impassable. The vegetation cover of this collecting site 

 is good primary lowland mixed forest, with several sub- 

 types, such as riverine forest, valley floor forest, and 

 rocky slope forest. This part of Palawan appears to re- 

 ceive the most rainfall, with the consequent luxuriant 

 forest cover and species richness. 



Takdua Zig-zag site is named for the switching back 

 and forth of the paved road as it crosses the eastern 

 slopes of the northern reaches of the Victoria Range. 

 Despite the construction work in putting this road 27 



