19691 DRANSFIELDAND WHITMORE: PALM HUNTING B3 Palm Hunting in MaLaya'sNational Park

J. Dnlusrrnr-D1ANI T. C. WuIrMoRE2

To a palm hunter, Gunong Tahan is river boat driven by a powerful out- a mountain of great interest becauseof board motor. We were soon speeding its two endemic palms, Liaistona ta' up the Sungei Tembeling in a boat very hanensis and E ugeissona brachystachy s, heavily laden with food (Christmaspud- both describedby H. N. Ridley after the dings, steak puddings and tins and tins classicascent by himself and the zoolo- of curried chicken we soon came to gistsBoden Kloss and Robinsonin 1906. dread) plant collecting gear and nine The mountain, T,186 {eet, is the highest men-but not for long: one hundred in Malaya, a large rolling plateau sur- yards upstreamwe ran aground and had roundedby gleamingquartzite clif{s, and to disembark to push the boat off a deeply incised to the south by the spec- sandbank. No rain had lallen for two tacular, deep Teku Gorge. Tahan is months and the rivers were all ex- one of the most rernote mountains in ceptionally low. We pushed off, and llalaya and is situated in the middle three hours later reached the Park of , MalaYa's National headquartersat Kampong Kuala Tahan, Park-a large area of more or less un- where we stayed in a very comfortable touched forested country in the States rest-housefor two nights while arranging of , Kelantan and Trengganu, for eight porters to carry food supplies rvith a rich fauna. and equipment the walk of three full In February, 1968, we made an ex- days to Kuala Teku at the foot of Gu- pedition to Gunong Tahan in order to nong Tahan, centre of the Tahan Woods collect Liaistona tahanenszsand Eugeis- and type locality ol Eugeissonabrachy' sona brachystachys and other palms, stachys. and to study anew the so'called Tahan We finally le{t the kampong early in Woods at the foot of the mountain which the morning accompaniedby one guide, are an important locality to Malayan two young apprentice rangers, eight botany. On February t5th we left the porters, four tree climbers and Md. Forest ResearchInstitute, Kepong, near Shah, and were soon out of the scrub , with four aborigine surrounding the village and into good tree climbers-Gerus, Gesak, Gi and {orest, following up the Sungei Tahan. Paling-and drove over the Main Range Palms in evidence included the very o{ Malaya into Pahangto Jerantutwhere common wild sugar palm, Arenga Wes' we met Mohammed Shah of the Singa- terhoutii, Calamus castanells, and the pore Botanic Gardens, and then on to attractive Arenga sp. (Didymosperma , a village at the con- Hookerianum), a small dark greenpalm- fluence of the great and let not growing more than two {eet tall, the Ternbeling River. Here we were met with pretty toothed leaflets and erect by two park game rangers with a Malay flower spikes. We made camp that eve- ning at Sungei Melantai, a small river in l The Botany School, Cambridge University, a deep valley. Here Oncospermahorri' Cambridge,England. durn was abundant as clusters of small 2 Forest Research Institute, Kepong, Se' The langor, Malaya. individuals on the hill slopes. cab- 84 PRINCIPES tVol. 13

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bageof this palm makesvery good eating made the second camp. Cornera is a and successiveexpeditions up Gunong very common and distinctive palm on Tahan have robbed the forest of all the valley slopes and is rather decorative old specimensnear the track. with its yellowish spines and pure white Next day we set o{f on the most lower leaf surface. Its fruit is covered dreaded part of the walk to Gunong with black scales and the flesh sur- Tahan-a high waterless undulating rounding the seed is delicious, in taste ridge like a saw, with 27 teeth, each reminiscentof the lychee. one steeper and higher than the one The map we were following proved before. The traverse took all day, and to be very inssgurals-the Sungei Puteh proved to be almost too much for us; was marked two full miles further south it was with relief that at about 4 p.u. than its actual position; this accounted we finally slithered down the last slope for the surprisingly long second day, past Sa.lacca glabrescens with bright and made the third day a much easier crimson male flowers, and.Cornera Lob- day than we had expected. On the last biana to Ulu Sungei Puteh, where we day of the walk to Kuala Teku, we fol- r9691 DRANSFIELDAND W}IITMORE: PALM HUNTING tt5

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Tahan' 1. Eugeissona brachystachys. Gi sits under a fine clump on the trail to Gunong

lowed the Sungei Puteh down to the The petiole and rachis are only sparsely Sungei Tahan, here a sPlendid rockY soinv and are covered with hairs and river full o{ rapids, lined with great p"ltut" scalesgiving the rachis a mush- neratn trees (Dipterocarpus obl'ongi' room pink tinge. The lea{letsare broad in a long drip-tip, and foliu;) leaning over the river and oc- and acuminate casionally meeting overhead. The trees are of a lovely rich dark green. Vege- o{ten have a rich epiphyte flora of such tatively it makes a strong contrast to plants as Cymbid'ium' atropurpureurn, the dingy common bertam, Eugeissona Grammatophyllum speciosurn,P siloturn triste. In flower, it is strikingly different -instead cornplanatum, Ly copo d,ium nummula"ri' of the funereal dark brown flowers the flowers have shiny green foliurn, Med,inilla spp, and a wealth of the other plants. We followed up the Tahan, petalsof the samewoody texture and sometimestaking short cuts over small pollen is clear yellow as opposed to ridges, and it was on one of thesethat purply-brown. The curious egg-shaped we first caught sight o{ the Tahan ber- fruits covered in minute scalesare very tam, Eugeisso na brach'ystachy s, looking similar to those oI bertam. From Kuala remarkably different from the common Puteh north to Kuala Teku we found weedy E. triste which is found all over the Tahan bertanr' very common on the west of Malaya but is known in the hill slopes. park from only one hillside. Eugeissona Climbing down one of the last hills brachystachys is a stemless palm with we discovered a fine colony oI d'aun beautiful leaves arching up to 25 teet. pdyong or ltoh (umbrella leal) Iohan' B6 PRINCIPES lVol. 13

3. Iguanura geonomaejormis-broadly pinnate stemlessform, Kuala Teku: 6-inch rule as scale.

We planned to spend three days col- lecting around Kuala Teku. and then to shift camp partlv to Wray's Camp at 3.000 {eet at the lorver limit of the 2. Close-up of the infructescence of Eugeis- sona brachystaciys. Note the minutely scaly fruit, and the paucity of spines on the leaf rachis: 6-inch rule as scale. nesteijvnannia altilrons, that most regal of all Malayan palms, in old flower and young fruit. We later saw this palm in great abundanceon the slopesof Gunong Tahan. After losing our way for half an hour, we finally found Kuala Teku, the most idyllic camp site imaginable. All around us the great neram and Tristania trees soared,the rivers Teku and Tahan joined in a deep pool full of fine fish, and the sandstone rocks were lined with the delicate tern, Dipteris Lobbiana, forming 4. Iguanura geonomaet'ormis-entire-leaved a beautiful fringe to the river. stemlessform, Kuala Teku: 6-inch rule as scale. 19691 DRANSFIELDAND WHITMORE: PALM HUNTING

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Neram 5. The Sungei Teku at Kuala Teku-our camp was on the right bank in the backgrotnd'. trees lean over the river. PRINCIPES tVol.13

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6. Wray's Camp, ait. 3,000 feet on Gunong Tahan, is graced by a beautiful old tree oI Dacryd,iutn: the mountain fierns Matonia pectinata and Dipteris conjugata below, a:rd Paling as scale. r9691 DRANSFIELDAND WHITMORE: PALM HUNTING B9

7. The view from Wray's Camp, over the slopes of the mountain-acres oI Liuistona tahanensis on the slopes below.

Upper Montane Forest,and then to work out from there collecting plants. The weather was superb-in fact, almost un- precedentedlygood for expeditions up the mountain; we had only onehalf-hour shower the whole time we were in the Park-this kept at bay the leeches {or which the Park is notorious. Eugeissona brachystachysproved to be very abundant all around us at Kuala Teku, on steep hill slopes and ridge- tops. Other common palms in the same habitat includedLicuala triphylla, avery sra;'allLicuala with three- to five-partite leaves,the whole plant not more than 40 centimeters (16 inches) in height, Licuala glabra, a common rather vari- able species,Pinanga d,istichncommon on slopesjust abovethe river, the young Ieavesbeautifully mottled with pale and dark green, and often flushed purple, and P. simplicifrons. Among the rat- tans we fiotnd Calnmus jauensis and C. ramosissimu.sand many speciesoI Dae-

B. A fine Liuistona tahanensis silhouetted. Note tJre stiff leaves. 90 PRINCIPES IVol. 13 '.,,,, "rs' +:Wl;;''''-,r , '{j$.!*

9. A group of Liuistona tahanensis in the mountain Iorest: Gunong Perlis in the background. tnonorops. On the lower slopes and pectinata and Dipteris conjugata, and riverside alluvium was the decorative many typically montane plants. As yet palmunculus lguanura geonomaelormis we could see no sign of the Liaistona. which occurs in a wide range of forms: When we reached Wray's Camp we plants may produce fruit when they are came suddenly out into Upper Montane stemless or not till they are trunked: Forest, here very low for Malaya, and leavesvary from entire through broadly there, stretching for miles ahead of us, pinnate with rhomboid leaflets to very we could seethe massifof GunongTahan finely pinnate. Every intermediate can with gleaming quartzite cliffs and stunted exist between these extremes. The in- twisted montane forest through which florescencesare unbranched and arch emerged the crowns oI Liaistona tahan- out from amongst the leaves; fruit is ensis in extraordinary abundance-thou- white and {leshy when mature. sands upon thousands glittering in the The walk up the ridge between the sunshine as the wind blew over the 'We rivers to W'ray's Camp only occupiedhalf mountain. were soon out in the a day and so we were able to botanize mountain forest collecting plants. Iioi- as we went. The Tahan bertarn was com- stona tahanensis is found on Tahan up mon up to about 2,000 feet and lohan- to about 5"000 feet. It reaches about 20 nesteijsmannia altilrons was very com- feet in height with a skirt of dead leaves mon locally up to 2,900 feet, a remark- in which grow epiphytic rhododendrons, ably high record for this palm. At 2,900 medinillas, orchids, and ferns in pro- feet it grows in Lower Montane Forest fusion. The leaves are stiff and slightly with Dacryilium, the fierns Matonia glaucous and the flowers a rich golden 19691 DRANSFIELDAND WHITMORE: PALM HUNTING 91

10. A gulley {illed with Pinanga polyrnorpha. Gerus as scale. yellow in sprays. The fruits are shiny Palms are not common in the Upper green. As the sun set that night, the Montane Forest, the Liaistona, Pinanga mountainside flushed pink and mauve polymorpha, and a few rattans being and the livistonas silhouetted against a the only speciesnoted by us. We found pearly sky made an unforgettably beau- one gulley filled with a sward of the tiful sight. decorative Pinanga polymorpha which, Wray's Camp, perched on an exposed like many Pinanga species, has shiny ridge-top proved to be windy and rather black fruit borne on a pink axis. Among chilly, and we were very thankful the the rattanswas the giant mountain rattan, weather was clear. Even so we were Ple ct o c o mia Gr i I lithii-unfortunately grateful {or the leaves of lohannestei- long past flowering and only with rotten jsmannia which made excellent wind fruit. This palm, the most massiverattan shields and supplemented our rather in Malay, is monocarpic, and many flimsy polythene sheet tent. The peaty dying palms seemedto suggestthat it soil on which we were camping was so flowers gregariously on Gunong Tahan. dry after the drought that the tree Some young plants showed signs of climbers set fire to the peat while they being mauled by elephant, which are were cooking the rice one evening-a partial to the sweetpalm cabbage. Our minor panic ensued in which we had guide told us that one particular elephant visions of our tenls.plants and the whole with regular habits goes rattan eating mountain top going up in flames, but on Gunong Tahan every year-we fol- we managedto extinguishthe fire before lowed its tracks and piles of old dung it spread. all the way up the ridge from Kuala PRINCIPES lVol. 13

11. The great mountain rattan Plectocomia Grillithii. 19691 DRANSFIELD AND WHITNIORE: PAL}'I HUNTING

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12. Daemonorops angustilolizrs at Kuala Kenyam, a common riverside species. 94 PRINCIPES IVol. 13

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13. Gi dwarfed by a fine old plant of Johannesteijsmannia ahifrons near Kuala Kenyam.

Teku to Wray's Camp and beyond. It coveredin a formidable array of spines. is di{ficuli to imagine how the elephant Calamus oreophilus was abundant along managesto extricate the palm cabbage the ridge-topsscrambling over the small from inside the leaf sheaths which are trees of Leptospermum and Baeckia. 19691 DRANSFIELDAND S/HITMORE: PALM HUNTING 95 $: ,Ft

4J0 $ts 610 810 et0 Lr' I 10t0 14. The milky white flowers of Johannesteiismannia ahitrons.

This is a very slender rattan with dark and then began the long slog back to green leafletsarranged in fanlike groups Kuala Tahan along the Sungei Tahan along the rachis; the leaf bases are and the interminable undulating ridge. armed with short spines neatly marked Twelve days after leaving Kuala Tahan with black, and the long pendulous in- we arrived back at Kuala Tahan feeling florescencescurve out from the stem. thoroughly tired and found two days Attractive herbs are abundant in the rest at the Park headquartersmost wel- Upper MontaneForest of GunongTahan. come, Gentiana malayana, a small pale blue The second part of our stay in the gentian, Burmanni.adistich,a, with mauve National Park was partly sabotagedby flowers tipped with yellow, Nepenthes the very low water in all the rivers-we gracillima with white pitchers, and N. had hoped to work our way right to the sanguineawith dark red-flecked pitchers, headwaters of the Sungei Tembeling to and small purple-flowered utricularias the borders of Trengganu, but we only were parlicularly abundant. Orchids just managed to reach Kuala Kenyam festoonedthe treesof Leptospermumand on the Tembeling river after pushing Baeclda and some extremely bizarre the boats over shallow rapids. W'e set mistletoeswere conspicuouswith flaming up camp on the alluvial flats just above orange and crimson flowers. the Sungei Kenyam near to the con- We worked the middle slopes (3,000- fluence of the Kenyam and the Tem- 5,000 feet) of the mountain for two beling-certainly not such a beautiful days and then returned to the camp at camp site as Kuala Teku, but neverthe- Kuala Teku, where we rested for a day lessvery pleasant. This camp was mem- 96 PRINCIPES IVol. 13

riverside rota,na,yer (water raltan), Dae- nl,onoropsangustifolius, often formed an impenetrable hedge. In one swamp we found a colony of Pholidocarpus m'acro' carpus, the largest coryphoid palm in Malaya. The colony consisted entirely of young trunkless individuals with gi- gantic windmill leaveson l5-foot petioles striped ;with yellow, and armed with I massivethorns. We could find no mature plants nor the remains of any dead ones. N How the large, heavy fruits six inchesin diametercould have reachedthis isolated swamp is a mystery. More rarely, we found the giant rattan Calamus erectus v ar. horrid'us, D aemonor op s oerticillaris, with its tunnels of spines filled with biting ants, and D. gran'd'is,Pinanga sim- pl,icilrons and the elegant P. limosa. We had been told by negrito abo- rigines of the occurrence oI lohannes- teijsmannia ahilrons on a hillside near our camp site and we spent one day looking for it. It proved to be locally common on one ridge (Bukit Koh), and absentfrom the surrounding hills. Grow- ing with it was a group of the decora- tive palm Areca tri.and,ra, with bunches of citrus-scented flowers and cherry.

15. Areca triandra in full flower near Kuala red ripe fruit. The leaves of this palm Kenyam. are very variable varying from finely- pinnate to broadly pinnate with rhom- orable for the mosquitoes,tiger tracks boid leaflets to entire. On the return found on the river sand near the tents to camp we found scatteredindividuals early one morning, and a false alarm oI Nenga pumila an arecoid palm with for a crocodile which metamorphosed brick-red fruit, and a solitary Orania into a monitor lizard by the time we syluicola, a rare palm in the National reached the river bank. We spent five Park though abundant elsewhere in days here working the lowlands and Malaya. hill slopes. In the forest on lowJying We reluctantly returned to Kuala ground near the river, palms were very Tahan, and on the night before we left il abundant, particularly a very spiny were lucky enough to seea herd of eight Salacca, differing slightly from S. gla- selad,ang,(wild cattle), including one T brescens,I gtnnur a geonomoe'lorrnzsand calf, in a patch of cleared forest just L Wallichiana in every conceivable vari- behind the rest-house. As we left the ant, Cornera Lobbinna and. Arenga sp. following morning, rain began io fall (DidymospermaH ookerianum). By the for the first time in almost three months. DRANSFIELDAND WHIT}IORE: PALNIHUNTING

ffiffi 16. Oncosperma horridurn-a fine clump o{ this spiny palm near K. Tahan. 98 PRINCIPES [Vol.13

W'e are sdrely among the few visitors to ganising the visit, and to all the cheerful the Park who have not had to complain porters, tree-climbers and guides, who of rain and swarmsof leeches. above all helped to prevent spirits from The National Park is readily acces- flagging on the long trek to Gunong sible from Kuala Lumpur, the Federal Tahan. Capital, and its rich and varied palm flora is by no means completely krrt*rr. Gr'oss'q"nv Bukit-hill AcrNowr-uocEMllNrs Gunong-mountain Our thanks are due to the Game De- Kuala-confluence of two rivers partment of Malaya for help in or- Sungei-river

CHECKLIST OF THEPALMS FOUND BY DRANSFIETDAND WHITMORE IN TAMAN NEGARA Arecoideae Coryphoideae Areca triand,ra lohannesteijsmannia ahilrons Iguanura geonomaelormis Licuala glabra I. Wallichiana L. triphylla Nenga pumila L. acutilida Oncosperma horrid,wn Lioistona tahanensis Orania sylaicola Pholidocarpus n'Lacrocarpus Pinnnga disticha p. Iimosa Lepidocaryoideae P. malaiana Calamus castaneus P. polymorpha C. erectus vat- horridus P. si,mplicifrons C. iauensis C. oreophilus C. ramosissimus Caryotoideae Cornera Lobbiana Arenga sp. (Didymospermd.Hooker- Daemonoropsangustit'olius ianum) D. grandis A. Westerhoutii D. uerticillaris Caryota mitis Eugeissona brachystachys E. triste Korthalsia spp. Cocoideae Plectocornia Grillithii Cocos nucilera Salacca glabrescens