288 Seifriz: Plants on Mt. Gedeh, Java 



The slender and warty vine, Vitis papulosa, is of interest be- 

 cause of its multitude of aerial roots which often swing clear for 

 fifty feet or more from the crown of some huge tree and present a 

 striking picture when one comes upon a barricade of them lighted 

 up by the sun. Smilax odoratissima is the catbrier of these 

 forests. Agalmyla parasitica (which is not parasitic) is an 

 interesting epiphytic climber frequently met with. The tubular 

 flowers are of a brilliant scarlet with long protruding stamens of 

 purple. The leaves of this vine when in the cool of the shade 

 project outward perpendicularly to the support, but droop once 

 the sun strikes them. The petioles and leaves are thick, suc- 

 culent, and turgid, suggesting the mechanism by which the 

 raising and lowering of the leaves is accomplished. Another 

 creeper found frequently upon the trunks of trees is the aroid, 

 Scindapsus hederaceus, readily distinguished by its broad, winged 

 petioles. This vine and its sister genus Rhaphidophora are the 

 only two climbing Araceae found in any great abundance in the 

 mountain rain-forest. Among the large lianes are Uncaria 

 and Embelia (E. pergamacea) , the latter often attaining great 

 length (as much as 250 feet). 



So numerous are the plants that make up the undergrowth 

 of the first subzone that it is an almost hopeless task to attempt 

 to give a representative list of them. A single bamboo, Di- 

 nochloa scandens, is still to be found at this altitude. Of the 

 many palms which characterize the tropical vegetation of Java 

 as a whole, but three comparatively inconspicuous genera occur 

 in the mountain forest. These are the slender and graceful 

 Pinanga Kuhlii and the two rattan palms, Calamus and Plecto- 

 comia (P. elongata). The two latter genera are climbing palms 

 with long extended leaf rhachides armed with vicious recurved 

 thorns by means of which the plants often attain a height of 

 75 feet or more, thus reaching up into the second story of the 

 forest. One of the Pandanaceae, Pandanus Lais, is very common 

 in the undergrowth of the first subzone. 



Showy flowers are much more abundant at Tjibodas than is 

 usually the case in a tropical rain-forest, although less frequent 

 in the forest interior. They seek the bright areas along the trail 

 and the open formations of the higher zones. In the closed 

 formation of the first subzone the most striking flower is that of 

 the ginger, Amomum. Its brilliant scarlet blossom is often 



