35 



and bathed in sunshine these form very dry, pleasant resting-places. Con- 

 sidering their small size, the contrast of the floral association with that of 

 the surrounding forest was very marked. Fringed by the forest trees, 

 mostly in flower, being more exposed to light, these little spaces were always 

 bright with herbaceous plants *Lycopodium cernuum creeping, and the 

 brilliant terrestrial orchid, Dendrobmin angiense, in clumps about "25 in. 

 high, with bright orange flowers 3 cm. long ; Riedelia montana var. arfak- 

 ensis, with cream-red flowers, about the same height ; * Burmannia disticha 

 and Didiscus arfiikensis, with spreading stolons, were associated with Diply- 

 cosia Lilianece and Vaccinium pilosiftorum ; the 3 cm. long single magenta 

 flowers of Dendrobinm agathodcemonis, springing out of the ground in bare 

 spots without showing foliage, were generally found on digging up to be 

 attached to a small piece of stick. 



* Gleiclienia vulcanica, clumps of *Dipteiis conjiigata and the extraordinary 

 0leandra cuspidata, with erect dendroid shoots about 1 m. high rising from 

 a creeping rhizome, the fronds in verticillate whorls up to the apex of the 

 vertical stems, of which Professor Bower writes " It seems to carry to an 

 extreme the habit shown by other species," were massed on the edge under 

 the trees. 



Small Landslips. 



In several places small slips of the loose granite gravel of the ridge had 

 occurred, exposing the soil, which was covered with large separate and ? 

 patches of Dawsonia Beccarii, closely resembling in habit and brown colouring 

 />. l>revi folia of the exposed peaks of the serpentine ridges of Kinabalu. 



* Lycopodium cernuum, * Gleichenia vulcanica, * Dip/ten* conjugata, grew 

 densely, also * Spathoglottis aurea and *Dianella ccerulea. 



At another more recent slip, Gleichenia vulcanica with *Lycopodium 

 cernuum were associated with *Gahnia psittacorum, 1'50 in., * Burmannia 

 disticha, the woody herbaceous llalorrhagis suffruticosa, the single shoots with 

 verticillate spinous leaves terminated by a panicle of red flowers, Oldenlandia 

 nutans, of similar habit, but quite herbaceous, with white flowers ; Myrtus 

 arfakensis, as a small spreading shrub, and the prostrate M. koebrensis, 

 with reddish foliage and stems, both with yellow flowers, spread over the 

 easier gradients. 



b. MARSH BY ? LAKE. 

 Sand Pans with running water. 



In certain areas of the marsh, more towards the centre, where coarse 

 quartz-sand formed a solid surface, intersected by shallow streams or bathed 

 in films of streaming water, many small herbaceous plants grew spaced 

 between the larger clumps of more showy species. 



Herbaceous Plants. The little *Schizcea malaccana witli the cosmopolitan 

 * Lycopodium carolinianum, creeping tightly to the ground, and *L. cernuum, 



P2 



