Day 11 : Flower of Moon Bay Beach

Day 11 :  Flower of Moon Bay Beach
Kota Belud  2018-11-30 FRI 10:41

Strange little flower looks like half of the flower being carefully cut off, but its not. Growing by the sandy seaside of Moon Bay Beach,

I for long have the impression of  Kota Belud as a quiet boring farming town. Not until this trip when, Chun Xing, my son who studied Geography, specially pin pointed several sigh seeing locations in Kota Belud. It turned out to be eye opening.

Kota Belud is another town blessed with natural beauty.

If I have enough time to collect a sample of all the wild flowers by the road sides of this town. It will be easily 50 over difference wild species in nature, not to include those artificially grown horticultural flowers in houses and parks.
This indicated how rich in natural flora of Kota Belud.

Perhaps I should make a next trip to prove that there are really 50 over species of wild flowers natural growing in this town.

Day 3 : Kundasang Town

Day 3 : Kundasang Town

BCCM 2018-11-22 THU 07:51

Crotalaria sp ? Unidentified. (Crotalaria retusa ?)

I spotted this species of Crotalaria flower for the first time. (Despite I visited Kundasang many times). I do not know this species name yet and hope someone can help. Most likely to be a Crotalaria retusa which original native land  is tropical Asia.

This is the second species of Crotalaria I came across in Sabah (and Borneo Island).

The first species is Crotalaria pallida猪屎豆 which can be spotted in several locations in Kota Kinabalu and Tawau.

Day 2 : Rainbow over valleys of Kundasang Town

Day 2 : Rainbow over valleys of  Kundasang Town
2018-11-21 WED 16:28
昆達山的彩虹

Rainbow over valleys of  Kundasang Town

天氣晴朗時來到昆達山的遊客對眼前大自然景色都為之驚嘆。

藍天白雲襯托，一道拱橋彩虹劃過雄偉的神山，彩虹隨著天氣變幻，一舜間難得一見的美景。

Day 2 : Lavandula of KINABALU

Day 2 : Lavandula of KINABALU
Kinabalu National Park 2018-11-21 WED  08:15




Shy little pink flowers blooming quietly by car park side of Kinabalu National Park.

Unassuming little wildflowers always surprises and delights me whenever and wherever I spotted them. This species I notice today for the first time, thought it has grown and prosper here since time ancient.

This highland species is different from the common species found in my lowland area.

Prayer Mountain of Haleluya Retreat Center

“I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help come from the lord, the maker of the heaven and earth.”

 Psalm 121:1-2

Haleluya Retreat Center (Mount Kinabalu Holiday Home) Sabah, Malaysia

12th May 2014

A retreat center with beautiful surrounding. Haleluya Retreat Center is located 2 km before the entrance to Kinabalu Park. The retreat center is situated on a valley of Kinabalu mountain range. Mount Kinabalu is a famous tourist spot and is a World Heritage Site.

The Center has been a nice place for Christian events but it also open to the public for overnight accommodation.

A good place for Family retreats, Church seminars, Youth camp, Personal prayer and meditation.  Water supply may be a problem during dry seasons because water are pump up from well and stream.

http://beautifulkk.com/2009/10/14/mount-kinabalu-holiday-home

We woke up in a clear morning and saw Mount Kinabalu and the valleys very clearly. We had a morning walk along the hilly road to Kinabalu Mountain Lodge and stop a few times to get some snap shots. It was an enjoyable magnificent morning. The view of  Kinabalu mountain range is awesome.

View in clear morning from balcony of dormitory block.

Photo above : Weather conditions can change rapidly on this mountain area. At the left of above photos is the cabbage garden and farmer's house.

At Kinabalu mountain range, the best weather in a day is early morning. 

There are two monsoons that bring rainy seasons to Sabah:

1- South West Monsoon stretches May to July. 

2- North East Monsoon October to January brining heavy and frequent rain. This is the worst time to visit Mount Kinabalu due to the heavy rain.

Rains and Vegetable

During the day, the weather is fickle, it changes quickly. Weather conditions can change rapidly on this  mountain area. A clear, sunny morning can suddenly turn into heavy sleeting rain in a matter of minutes by noon. Visitors to Mount Kinabalu Park must be well prepared for any eventuality.

February to  April are best months to visit Mount Kinabalu. These 3 months are non monsoon season with little  rainfall.

Today we are here is May when rains only starting to increase. Rain is what the vegetable farmers in Kundasang expecting all year round.  I saw the cabbage farmer harvesting his cabbages in the early morning. When I walk the slop down to talk to him, he complained of little rains of the past months resulted in his cabbages not growing big enough. But even though not big enough, the cabbages are old enough to be harvested as soon and the land to be replanted with a new batch of vegetable.  

Vegetable farm at Haleluyah Retreat Centre. (The Cameron Highland of Sabah)

Sweet Cabbages

I bought 13Kg of cabbages directly from his farm. He said his cabbages belong to the sweet variety. (The other type of cabbages are bigger and greener but less sweet taste).

Before we left  for long journey home, he carried the heavy big beg of cabbages from the farm up the hill slop to the car park and put into my car. He charged me only Rm2.00 per kg dealer price and gave me another 4 Kg as free gift. I pay him Rm30.00 and asked him to keep the change. He was pleased and  we have sweet cabbages. 

The next day we and the neighbors have fresh sweet cabbages for dinner. 13Kg  is just enough to give 2 cabbages each neighbors. For the next several days of dinner the fried cabbages dish is the first to finish on the dinning table. We all like the fresh crispy and sweet test of the vegetable. The farmer already told me so that his cabbages are sweet.

Corypha Taliera - “extinct in the wild” tree species found in Borneo Island

12th May 2014 Monday

If I have correctly identified this tree as Corypha taliera (Tali Tree) then this is a rear tree species found in Sabah of Borneo Island.

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has classified this plant species Corypha taliera on its Red List, as being “extinct in the wild”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corypha_taliera

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/summary/38493/0

Nature’s Biggest Bouquet

Photo above : The Largest Flower Structure in the world on the top of a Corypha umbraculifera - Talipot Palm Tree in Malaysia. 25th March 2012

Nature’s Biggest Bouquet
An unusual bloom from a palm tree Corypha umbraculifera - Talipot Palm. These feather-like branches are so magnificent, like the crowning of a tree before it dies.


Corypha umbraculifera Palm is a species of palm, native to southern India and Sri Lanka. The reason we are able to see these palm in Borneo Island is because the British brought them here before WWII. British once rule Borneo before the war.


It is one of the largest palms in the world
It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with large palmate leaves up to 5 m in diameter.


The  Corypha umbraculifera - Talipot Palm bears the largest inflorescence of any plant, 6-8 m long, consisting of one to several million small flowers borne on a branched stalk that forms at the top of the trunk. The palm is monocarpic, flowering only once, when it is 30 to 80 years old. It takes about a year for the fruit to mature, producing thousands of round yellow-green fruit 3-4 cm diameter, containing a single seed.


The plant gradually dies out in a year after fruiting. http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Corypha/umbraculifera.html

The talipot palm is cultivated throughout Southeast Asia, north to southern China. Historically, the leaves were written upon in various Southeast Asian cultures using an iron stylus to create palm leaf manuscripts. The leaves are also used for thatching, and the sap is tapped to make palm wine. 

The tree is known as kudapana in Malayalam Language, which means "umbrella" palm tree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corypha_umbraculifera 

Talipot palm :  http://www.arkive.org/talipot-palm/corypha-umbraculifera/image-G61587.html
The blooming palm : http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Corypha_umbraculifera.htm
DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE : http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=507&st=40

Photo above : These 2 rare palm trees are located at 4Km Jalan Kuhara Road, Tawau Town of Malaysia. 17-6-2012

Rare palm trees origin to the Bengal region of India
I first notice these 2 palm trees only in 2010 even thought I have been passing by the Jalan Kuhara Road for more then 10 years since I came to Tawau Town in 1998.  The magnificent bloom from the first tree in  2010 attracted me.


The first tree bloom in 2010 and by 2012 it dried and witting out (see photo above). But immediately followed by the bloom of the second tree.

Photo above : Insert small image of the young caretaker as a comparison of his height with the palm tree.  15-7-2012

The young caretaker is seen in above image. This caretaker of the family garden is about 1.5 meters.  With his size as a scale, the diameter of the palm tree is about 1.2 meters and the height of the tree is about 25 meters. A huge, imposing tree, more so when mature and flowering.



The  two  Talipot palms of Jalan Kuhara Road in Malaysia


These two  Talipot palm Corypha umbraculifera (originate of  tropical Sri Lanka and India) have a life span as long as 50 to 70 years before it flowers and fruits just one time and then dies. The huge panicle (many-branched cluster) of creamy white blooms rises up to 5 meters (16 feet) from the center of the cluster of fan-shaped leaves topping the trunk, which may be 24 meters (about 80 feet) tall. In Philippines the leaves are used for main crafts to make hats, mats, baskets and the thread bone is used for cleaning and decorations


And now, after so many years and decades, is the long awaited moment of flowering and fruiting time of these two trees. And I know, is also the come of age of these two trees.


Unable to resist the temptation of such a huge natural beauty, I wanted to come closer for a nearer encounter. It’s a moment of once a life time of 50 to 70 years. So in a hot Sunday afternoon on 15 July 2012 I approached the always closed entrance gate of house 497 of Kuhara Road. Greeting me immediately were two fat big dogs barking fiercely on the other side of the gate. I was not scared by surprised as there is a red small notice on the gate read “Beware of Dog”.


There seem no one around but with the non stop barking of these two dogs, soon a young man came.  


“I want to have a few seed of this big tree…..” I spoke in Malay.


...and after a brief introduction, he open the gate and let me into his front yard garden. But,he first brought away and locks the two big dogs into the dog cage at the back of the house before opening the gate to let me in.


He is the care taker of the house and garden. As we talk, I suggested these two palm trees are 100 years old but he corrected me that the trees were planted in the 1950s which is slightly more then 50 years old now.  I used to believed only the British would plan such exotic plans in Tawau town back then long before and after WWII. Now I might be right as the care taker confirmed that the late house owner was truly an “Orang Putih” (White Man) and this house still belongs to this White Man’s family members.


I left the house with 2 handfuls of both fresh fruits and dried seeds.

Fruits of Corypha umbraculifera - Talipot palm

It takes about a year for the fruit to mature, producing thousands of round green fruit of 3 cm diameter, each containing a single seed. When rip, the yellowish-green fruits falling by the thousands to the ground from 25 meters above.

The plant dies after fruiting with no more sign of green and growth. The dried trunk, however, remain standing tall on the ground for a couple of years to come before it was eroded by nature of rain and wind and vanish from the skyline where it has stand tall for the last 50 over years.

-- One of the most dramatic plants in nature; -- a huge, imposing tree, more so when mature and flowering; -- has one of the largest inflorescences of any flowering plant in the world; -- grows to a height of up to 25 m (80 ft), with a straight cylindrical trunk, 1-1.3 m (3-4 ft) in diameter, ringed with prominent leaf scars, surmounted by a crown of immense, fan-like leaves; -- a single leaf-blade at full size being as much as 5 m (16 ft) in diameter, with a stout petiole 5 m long and the margin with short dark teeth. -- At 20-40 yrs(reported up to 80 yrs), it produces an enormous, creamy-white inflorescence, 4-6 m (14-20 ft) high and nearly as broad, which first appears as an erect pole issuing from the center of the crown; -produces millions of very small flowers, each about size of a finger nail; -- this is followed about 8 months later by green, marble-like fruit, and about 12 months later by the death of the palm; -- the leaves become gradually smaller as the palm approaches the flowering stage, withering and falling back along the stem and finally dropping off, leaving only the towering stem and fruiting panicle at the top. Dominica Botanic Gardens :  http://www.da-academy.org/dagardens_talipot1.html

Identification Confirmation
My identification of this palm tree is based on Internet photo images and the identification could be an error.


If you are a Botanist who know this real palm, your correction is greatly appreciated. I am grateful to have your comments.

*******

On 12th May 2014 I saw another Flowering Palm Tree :  http://wongfookyee.blogspot.com/2014/05/another-flowering-palm-tree.html

Labuk Bay

Pointing a finger under the sun

"Point a finger under the tropical sun, a rare damselfly will come to rest on your finger tip."

Seem like a dream for a nature lover but this is every day life in the nature in Borneo Island. Sabah is still in touch with nature.






This afternoon we came to Madai Water Fall for the first time. I was snapping snapshoot of the Water Fall when a damselfly came to rest on my right thumb. Moment later another damselfly of the same species rest on my left index finger what a friendly little creatures they are.





It was not only me these little flying ferry befriended. Yin has been sitting on a rock beside me amazing but the little flying insects equally astonished by one also rest on her finger. Damselflies not only love your finger tips, they equally love to sit on your feet too.

Madai Caves

This massive Madai caves raises from 250 metres from the forest floor. Madai caves was like a home to thousands of bats since hundreds of years ago and it has been well known for generations among the locals for its supplies of bird nests. This generation comes from the Idahan peoples who has been harvested and they have earned the right for collecting all the nests since 20 generation now. This right to harvest ensuring that local Idahan people with traditional rights to collect nests do not lose income to illegal immigrant labor and to traders.

Madai Caves is not far from the main road of Lahad Datu-Tawau highway. The turn off is 69km from Lahad Datu.

The caves are habitat of swiftlets. These birds made their nest using their saliva. These natural products are highly sought after by the Chinese for its medicinal purpose. In high class Chinese restaurants this nest appears in menu as ‘birds nest soup’.

In the Hong Kong the price can fetch up to USD1000.00 per kilograms. The bird’s nests in these caves are harvested twice a year. Only the Idaan people of Sabah are given the exclusive rights to harvest by the Government. This Idaan people have been doing this trade for hundreds of years.

Visitors to Madai Caves is advisable to hire a local guide.
The village folks usually come to you to offer to be your guide. But it is up to you to use their services or enter on your own if you have been here before.

The guides usually ask for Rm20-30 for the service. If you are alone you may pay Rm20. If you are bringing a family you can pay a generous fee of Rm30. Even you pay less, the friendly local villages usually accept.


Madai is also an archaeological site of ancient tombs. But I am very doubtful because not only the local villagers, even Sabah Museum is not showing any interest in protecting the few timber ancestral coffins that left on the path way for villagers and visitors to step on.



Guarding infront the main cave is a small village which all visitors will walk passes the village houses. The villagers lived there for 100 of years ago.
Some are houses of nests collectors who will come to stay only during nest harvesting seasons.

From the hill foot, visitors walk up a wooden stairs of about 100 meters.

There are always a few full time villagers stay inside the caves day and night as guardian to the bird nest. One kilograms of bird nest fatches RM2,000 in Sabah market. There are experienced nest harvesters who return as theif for a fortune.

Madai Caves

Kunak

Gomantong Caves

Gomantong Caves
(The Black Cave & The White Cave)
Largest cave system in Sabah
110 km south of Sandakan