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H. N. Ridley: Botany of Gmiong Tahaii. 133 



accidentally on sticks etc. from below, and two or three 

 fructifications of a species of Fonies or Polyponis in the Teku 

 Woods, but that was all, except, perhaps, a few leaf-fungi in 

 an imperfect state. 



In damp spots on the Padang were very conspicuous 

 masses, 2 or 3 inches long, of a brilliant orange-scarlet alga 

 forming small pads. 



TEKU RIVER WOODS. 



The Teku River commences by the junction of two 

 streams from the watershed of the actual Tahan Mountain, 

 and traverses the Padang through a deep gorge with precipi- 

 tous sides, eventually joining the Tahan River at Kuala Teku. 

 At the point where it enters the gorge it is joined by the 

 stream that, in descending from the Ulu Riang Mountain, 

 traverses the Padang from north-east to south-west. This 

 stream I have called the Camp stream, because the Camp 

 is placed close to it. This part of the Teku River contains 

 a number of plants which are much more characteristic of the 

 forest-region of the lower Tahan River, and which have not 

 spread up the Padang stream for more than a few yards, such 

 as Honiolomena angustifolin, Scindapsns Scortechinii, Dipteris 

 Lobbiana, LoxocarptiS incana, and Eurya acuminata ; and the 

 forest which borders the Teku River in this locality, which is 

 of a larger type of tree and more resembles in appearance the 

 forests of the lower Tahan, contains such lowland types as 

 Plectocomia, Freycinetia, Curculigo, Phyllagathis hispida, Polyal- 

 thia, and Labisia pumila. 



Here we have, it seems, a flora pushing its way up the 

 Teku River from the low country up to an altitude of about 

 4,600 feet, where it seems to stop. Along the stream we have 

 also a number of plants of Himalayo-Javanese distribution — 

 Bucklandia, Altingia, and Itea. 



The last two genera have not been previously met with in 

 the Peninsula. The number of Himalayo-Javanese plants 

 over this region is small, especially when one compares it with 

 the number found in some other parts of the Peninsula, such as 

 Telom, w^here occur Viola, Sanicula, Sarcopyramis, and Dis- 

 porum. Itea occurs on Kinabalu, and the other two genera 

 above mentioned probably had a very much wider distribution 

 in earlier days and have disappeared except in isolated spots. 



Except for these plants the Teku Woods flora seems to 

 be composed of plants from the Tahan valley woods, mix^d 

 with a number which have descended from the plateau. 



ORIGIN OF THE FLORA. 



The flora of this mountain is evidently derived from 

 more than one source, and the distribution of the genera 

 and species found there is very instructive. We have natu- 

 rally a large Malayan element — that is to say, the element 

 of species and genera which occur chiefly or almost exclusively 

 in Malayan regions. Many of the endemic species of this and 



