288 SEIFRIZ: PLANTS ON MT. GEDEH, JAVA 
‘The slender and warty vine, Vitis papillosa, 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 
