THE ORCHID REVIEW. [Nc 
*, 1921, 
ORCHIDS OF MOUNT KINABALU AND THE HIGHLANDS 
OF BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. 
m OUNT Kinabalu, the highest mountain of the Malay Archipelago, was 
first ascended by a botanist, Sir Hugh Low, in March 1851. He 
made a second ascent in June, 1858, accompanied by Spencer St. John, 
and was followed by Burbidge in 1877 and 1878, Whitehead in 1888, and 
finally Haviland in 1892. Botanical work has also been done in the past 
on the coastal flora of the country. Miss Lilian S. Gibbs, F.L.S., landed 
at Jesselton, the capital, at the end of December, 1909, and a full account 
of her work in British North Borneo and especially on Kinabalu itself, is 
published in the Linnean Society’s Journal, vol. xlii, No. 285. 
In the chapter devoted to the itinerary and descriptive account of the 
vegetation, the first mention is made of the Orchids: “On the sandy 
beach, and on a trunk, dislodged and lying on the latter, a beautiful 
Dendrobium crumenatum (pigeon orchid) was in full flower, a rather 
interesting fact, as Capt. Learmonth informs me that the vertical rise and 
fall of tide in North Borneo ranges between 6 and 10 feet.” At the 
Residency of Tenom, which is 700 feet above sea-level, there are many 
plants of interest, and it is stated: “ Of epiphytes, magnificent examples of 
Platycerium biforme showed the long fronds hanging down from the 
topmost branches, whilst Asplenium nidus nestled in the lower forks. The 
large white flowers of Phalaenopsis amabilis made constant splashes of 
light amongst the surrounding foliage, often poised on dead sticks which 
formed the whole support of fine flowering specimens.” And, at a higher 
altitude, “ the white Calanthe Gibbsiae and the purple Miscobulbum 
scapigerum, with lovely shaded leaves, were of isolated habit.” 
At chapter 4 begins the ascent of the mountain, and we read that all 
the second supply of stores had been brought up to Kiau. “The Dusuns 
of Kiau all speak the Dusun language, but one Lamat, the potential head¬ 
man of the place, who had three ascents to his credit, could speak good 
Malay, having been to Singapore with Waterstradt, an experienced 
Orchid collector, who was the last person known to have ascended the 
mountain. Lamat was to be our guide in chief, and proved, of course, 
invaluable in the endless preliminary discussions and arrangements. My 
first care at Kiau was to establish a Javanese boy in the cookhouse, where a 
good fire had to be kept going night and day for the purpose of drying the 
material collected.” The plants were intended for preservation as 
herbarium specimens, and not for cultivation. “This boy was very kindly 
procured for me by the authorities at Buitenzorg, and had been out with 
many well-known botanists in Java, and his time at Kiau was wholly spent 
