* nl a eu y r > "c^. I » .0^^ T?/s V.6 ^ I. AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT MENUANG CASING, SELANGOR. ''By Henry N. Ridley, F.R.S., F.L.S.; with an account of the Journey by C. B. Kloss.* [Read 7th November, 7912.] [Mount Menuang Casing is 'Bukit Nyor' or 'Nuang' of local maps, one of the peaks of the range which forms the backbone of the Federated Malay States, and is situated within a mile of the spot where the boundaries of the States of Selangor, Perak, and the Negri Sembilan meet. It is 4,908 feet in height, and though separated on the north from the more massive portions of the main range by passes of 2,000 feet or so, it yet possesses a true mountain fauna :t south of it the range becomes gradually broken up into more or less isolated groups of hills, few of which attain an equal altitude ; while only to those in the immediate neighbourhood is the high-level fauna known to extend. The summit of Menuang Casing itself is a somewhat steep peak rising above hills of only slightly inferior altitude. The collection, of which Mr. Ridley treats below, was made in the course of a four or five days' visit in February, 1912. At 6 o'clock one morning I left Dusun Tua ^in the Ulu Langat district of Selangor, 17 miles from Kuala Lumpur), which is a rest-house near some hot springs impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and at 5.45 P.M. made camp on a hill- side 2,950 feet high. The day's march had been an extremely hard one (owing to the many descents we had to make before finally attaining this altitude), and we all arrived thoroughly exhausted, but I felt little compunction in getting the utmost out of the Sakais who acted as carriers, since they had refused to remain with me for more than one night, and had stood out for most extortionate remuneration. Our palm-leaf shelter was made on the mountain-side on a flat knoll which the Sakais called Bukit Pengaseh, and even at that moderate altitude we found the nights extremely cold owing to the presence of a strong wind which blew uninter- ruptedly across the ridge; at midday the thermometer generally indicated about 70°, * Reprinted from the Journal of the Linnean Society—Botany, Vol. XLI, July, 1913. f An account of the mammals and birds obtained on a previous visit to these mountains appears in an earlier number of this Journal (Vol. iv. pp 235-241 (1911). 2 - Journal of the F.M.S. Museums. [Vol. VI, Save for the occurrence of "Job's Tears" (Coix Lachryma Jobi) at 1350 feet, and the commencement of the Giant Bam- boo zone at 2000 feet, I noted little of botanical interest, as, after leaving the various streams which form the sources of the Langat River, attention was principally directed to a search for water. I remember, however, a most unexpected show of Cannas in a Saki clearing at 1,000 feet. The collection was made between the camp and the top of Menuang Casing, about 3^ hours distant to the N. W. along a very undulating track, which ran up and down hill-sides, along ridges, and over many minor summits, but nowhere reached as low a level as Bukit Pengaseh. In two spots some distance apart, but both at an altitude of 4,100 feet, a yellow Balsam {Impaiiens oncidioides) occurred, thickly covering swampy patches on the ridges, while I have rarely seen denser draperies of moss at a height of 4,300 feet than on a rocky hill-top covered with trees whose roots crawled over the surface; here orchids were numerous. At this height also we discovered a swamp and small pond on a level ridge which was deep in mud all along its length. Much of this mud was covered by a small-leaved creeping plant {Pratia hegonioefolia) which bore immense numbers of round pinkish- red fruits. The ridges struck me as being unusually swampy, but the summit of Menuang Gasing itself was quite dry, being of conical form; it had been cleared some years previously, and was covered principally with myrtles, pitcher-plants, and long grasses. It will be seen that the plants obtained occurred at altitudes between 3,000 feet and 4,908 feet. — C. B. K.j The Flora. yhe collection of plants made by Mr. Kloss on this expe- dition and described below, shows clearly the fact that this mountain, possessing as he states a high-level fauna, bears also a high-level flora. /yThe mountain itself possesses an interest in that it is one of the most' southern ones of anything like that altitude in the peninsula, and the flora we find thereon is shown by this collection to be similar to that of the central mountain chain running to the northern part of the peninsula. This is illustrated by the occurrence here of such plants as the beautiful Golden Balsam Impatient oncidioides, Bucklnndia populnea, the rare Polyosoma parviflora, Pratia begonicefolia, Dilochia Cantleyi, and Goodyera gracilis. Further south we have one mountain of approximately the same height, viz. Mount Ophir, 4,000 feet in altitude, the flora of which is now well known and is very different from that of the main chain and of Menuang Gasing. Indeed, igi5.] H. N. Ridley: Mount Menuang Casing. 3 there is every evidence that Mount Ophir was never connect- ed with the main chain of the peninsula, or at least not during the period of the evolution of the flora now found on the mountains of the central main range. The novelties and additions to our flora are mostly of peninsular types, but of more special interest are the Javanese Orchid, Physums hunit lis, Forrestia glabrata (Indo-Malaya), and the Indian Pratia begonicefolia, which, however, was recently obtained on Gunong Kerbau, in Perak ; while among the new species, Oheronia grandis, probably the biggest species in this large genus, the remarkable Blastus pulverulentus, and the new Balanophora are the most noteworthy. List of Plants collected. POLYPETAL^. MAGNOLIAQEiE. 1. Illicium cambodianum, Hance, in Journ. Bot. xiv. (1876)240, [287]* The flowers rather smaller than usual, and the petals not ciliate on the edge. Distrih. Common on all the hills at about 4,000 feet elevation. ANONACEiE. 2. GoNiOTHALAMUS CuRTisii, King, in Journ. As. Soc. Beng. Ixi. (1892) ii. 75 {Mat. Fl. Mai. Pen. i. 324) [287]. Distrib. Selangor and Perak. 3. Unona filipes, 7?/^/.,^n. sp. [287]. Arbor io-12-pedcdis, glabra, cortice nigro. Folia elliptica, acuta, basibus rotundatis, tenuiter coriacea, superne viridia, subtus glauca, 19 cm. longa, 8 cm. lata, nervorum 15 paribus, petiolis I cm. longis. Flores singuli, axillares, kermesini vel brunnei, pedicellis filiformibus ad 38 cm. longis. Sepala parva, deltoideo-ovata, acuta, 3 mm. longa. Petala elongata, linearia, a basi latiore acuminata, ad apices spiraliter torta,angustissima, 15 cm. longa, ad basin 9 mm. lata. Stamina antheris oblongis apicibns late triangulariovatis. Pistilln- lageniformia, dense pilis rufis tecta. Carpella matiira ellipsoidea, 8 mm. longa, 5 mm. lata, brevissime apiculata, stipitibus i cm. longis. Also in Perak (Scorfechini, 342) ; Larut, 2,500 to 3,000 feet alt., 10 to 20 feet tall: flower brown, fruit glossy-green with brown tinge (King's Collector, 5291). Hill garden, medium- sized tree, flowers crimson {Wray, 609). Figures in square brackets [ ] indicate the pagination of tlie original paper* 4 Journal of the F.M.S. Museums. [Vol. VI, This plant is identified by King (Mat. Fl. Mai. Pen. i. 295) with U. longiflora, Roxb., a native of Assam and Chittagong. His description in this article and the description and figure in the 'Annals of the Calcutta Garden,' vol. iv. i. p. 58, pi. 80, do nojt apply to the Perak plant, which appears to me to be a very distinct species. It differs in its very much longer and more slender pedicels, which in U. longiflora vary from iJ-8 inches in length and are much stouter; in its petals, which are much narrower, narrowing rather abruptly from a broader base into a long filiform point, whereas in U. longiflora they are gradually narrowed and linear lanceolate, much broader and only 9 cm. long or little more ; in the carpels, which in U. longiflora are often moniliform, with the joints elongate and much longer in proportion to their breadth than in U.filipes. 4. POLYALTHIA MONTANA, i?«^/., n. Sp. [288]. Arbor ramis tenuibus, cortice nigro, partibus junioribus pilis flavescentibus appressis tectis. Folia lanceolata, acuminata, apicibus obtusis, basibus brevius acuminatis, coriacea, nitida, subtus pallidiora, glabra, 15 cm. longa, 45 mm. lata, nervorum paribus 8, reticulationibus conspicuis tenuibus, petiolis pubescentibus 5 mm. longis. Florcs extra- axillares, singuli, i cm. lati, pedicellis i cm. longis. Sepala parva, ovata, hirta. Petala oblonga, ovata, extus hirta,''intus glabra, obtnsa, serie externa quam interiore breviore. Stamina oblonga, connectivo subelliptico, apice canaliculato antheram vix tegente. Ovaria pauca, oblonga, hirta, stigmatibus glabris. Ovuluin singulum. Carpella matura ellipsoidea, hirta vel pilis dejectis pustulata, i cm. longa, stipitibus 3 mm. longis. Distrih. Ulu Langat (C. B. Kloss). Nearest to P. dutnosa, King, but differing in the venation of the leaves, the petals hairy outside and glabrous within, the connective or appendage of the stamen smaller, somewhat oblong, grooved along the top, and in the form of the fruit. Most of the flowers on the specimens appear to be unisexual and male, having no pistils. The petals appear to have been purple. POLYGALACEiE. 5. PoLYGALA VENENOSA, Juss. in Poir. Did. Encyc. v. 493 [288]. There are two forms in the collection, one the common peninsular form with broad ovate leaves, the other with oblanceolate leaves.