208 



OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



smaller species are frequent in the lowland forest. The big in- 

 florescences of these huge Aroids usually have a very offensive 

 odor and attract swarms of carrion-loving insects which presumably 

 assisl in pollination. 



Wild bananas (Musa Malaccensis, M. violacea) are abundant, 

 and much resemble the cultivated ones except that the fruit has 

 many seeds, and but little edible pulp. Presumably some of these 

 wild bananas are the ancestors of the cultivated varieties. 



A B 



Fig. 61. — Pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.). 

 A. From Malay Peninsula. B. From Borneo. 



Not very distantly related to these are the many forms of the 

 ginger family, which are exceptionally abundant in the Malayan 

 rain-forest. They are often very handsome plants, with fine 

 foliage and showy flowers. Characteristic genera are Zingiber, 

 Globba, Costus, Amomum, Alpinia, etc. 



The epiphytic vegetation is a notable feature of the Taiping 

 forest. As already mentioned this includes a large number of 

 ferns, of which the big bird's-nest fern (Asplenium nidus) is the 

 most conspicuous, and orchids are extremely abundant, mostly 



