THE FLORA OF THE TELUM AND BATAN<; I'AhANO 



VALLEYS. 



By H. N. IMDLEV, r.R.s.. 



DlRKCTOK OK n.AROEXS, StRAITS SkTT r. K MK \TS. 



TN u-lviutr an account of tlu* plants ni.-t with in tli.-s.- .li..trirts, I 

 must premise that this portion of Perak was visitcl l,v Mr. 

 Wray in 1888, wlio collected largely in the Batang Pa.laiiu: vall.-v 

 and on a hill known as Gunong Berunihan, but whieli is not th.- 

 mountain described in this account. He does not seem to have i,'<.t to 

 Telom, where the greater part of the novelties wen- obfaiii<'<l, nor 

 apparently did Father Scortechini, who got to the main range some- 

 where in the Batang Padang district. I have retained the name 

 "Telom" for the camp and country round, and "Telom River" for 

 the river at the head of whidi the camp was situated ; but the projM'r 

 name of the camp appears to be Lubok Tana in and of the riv.-r 

 Sungei Bertang or Berotang. The other nanu-s, how.-v.'r, hiiv.- 

 appeared on maps, and are perhaps more identifial)le. 



The final point reached was well on tlie central mountain chain of 

 the Peninsula, and the important thing shown by the l)otanv of this 

 region is the prevalence of a strong Himalayan element, pushing down 

 along the main chain towards the south. This will Ije dilatt^l on a 

 little later. 



During the period when I was awaiting the arrival of the rest of 

 the expedition at Tapah, I was enabled to make a fairly good collection 

 of the plants of that district, the flora of which is that of tlie low 

 couutrv, l)ut containing many elements wliirh are fbstimt from the 

 low country districts of Selangor or Johore. This flora continues 

 to the 12th mile on our route and alters slowly as we pass into the 

 Batang Padang valley, where the flora completely changes, resembling. 

 to a considerable extent, the flora of Ginting liidei in Selangor. 

 Bamboos become very abundant, not only in number of siwcimeiis l>ut 

 in species, though as too often happens few plants ci>uld U' found in 

 flower and so identified. The flora differs strikingly from that of the 

 other Perak Hills, noticeably in the paucity oi Dichjmncarpi. Pnndam 

 and Mapnuue; Auonacete, abundant at Tapah, are scarce: Dipiem. 

 carpeie are hardly seen anywhere. At one point in the Bjit«nu' 

 Padang valley we came upon th.- chai-acteristio lime8t<uu'-r«M-k plant 

 MouophijUea, together with Forro'tid mononperma, which I have ranOy. 

 if ever, seen away from the limestone formation, altliougii there are no 

 signs of limestone anywhere in the district. Noticeable, t<Mi. is the 



Dec, 1909. 



