Birdsnest fern, Asplenium nidus-avis, grows on the 
great trees, at higher elevation, all over Malaysia. 
This specimen, with a 6 foot spread, lives on a giant 
Rubber tree in the Sunda Islands. On the ground 
there are many other ferns: Adiantum, Polypodium, 
Nephrolepis and Selaginellas. 
The volcanic slopes of the 10,300 ft. Mt. Agung are 
bright with Poinsettias in bloom in July. South of the 
Equator Poinsettias bloom during our Summer, but 
right under the Equator they flower the year round. 
The Sundanese eat the leaves after putting them 
into boiling water for a moment. 
What looks like the design of a dragon, is a me- 
andering river in the immense, unbroken jungles of 
Borneo, under the equator, as seen from a small 
Indonesian plane 10,000 feet below. 
In the lush island of Java there is little need for com- 
mercial nurseries, but here is one of the few in 
Djakarta-Kota. For sale are Coleus and Areca Palms, 
Aglaonemas, Poinsettias, Dracaens and bamboo. 
Schetflera actinophylla is a lowland plant in Java, 
often starting as an epiphytic. 
56 
