A good morning jungle trailing

Wild Ixora
Location : Provinsi Licuala, Zone I

Climber with maroon red young leaves

Located at  an elevation of  between 150  - 300 feet  above sea level, the jungle back door is a gem of a tropical rainforest ecosystem.  This morning,  I decided to explore further the Licuala Provinsi area which is named after the many stands of Licuala palms in the locality. It is one of the highest point in the park with steep slopes and many small hills surrounding it  making trekking a difficult and exhaustive  workout.  The forest is originally  a lowland dipterocarp hill forest ( in latin Di = two, ptero = winged, carp = fruit) .  Here can be seen many exportable jungle trees e.g. 'meranti' and 'kapur'.  The Kambatik jungle here supports a very diverse range of plantlife as well as wildlife because of the niches accorded by the jungle ecosystem.  I have therefore the opportunity to watch a unique climber (unidentified) which have strong stems and producing maroon red young leaves. Within the Provinsi Licuala I stumbled upon a wild Ixora plant with orange flowers.  My exploration this morning was well rewarded with the sighting of a big clump of Pandan 'palms' growing along a small stream.   This pandanus variety is sought after by the local Melanaus as the natural material for making mats and other types of handicraft items.  Other interesting encounters this morning was the fiddlehead of the 'Paku Kelindang' (Iban) - Blenchnum orientale and a green stick insect.

Licuala palms along the jungle path
Location : Provinsi Licuala

Maroon red young leaves of a jungle climber.

Jungle climber spiral up a tree

A green stick insect

Pandanus 'palms' situated along a stream
Location : Provinsi Licuala, Zone I

Fern fiddlehead, belonging to the Blenchnum orientale (Paku Kelindang - Iban)

Checking out the rattan canes

Rattan harvested and coiled up.
Provinsi Rattan, Zone I

A small stream in the Rattan territory
area.

 The clear water in the stream that flows through the Provinsi Rattan makes me feel consoled.  I often check the 'rattan territory' area for any disturbances.  Today, I'm pleased to see the area where many species of rattan thrive is largely intact.  I could hear different bird calls and most interesting was to know the presence of the Rufous-backed Kingfisher which I saw speeding through the tree trunks and branches but too fast for me to photograph.  Rattans are climbing palms which have many economic, cultural and entertainment uses among the Melanaus of Bintulu.  It is for this reason that the Melanaus have over generations maintain the jungle in their possession undisturbed as a source of rattan material and other plants and jungle products having  medicinal value.  In comparison, the Ibans of Sarawak are more destructive of the forest because of their practice of completely burning the forest (slash and burn method)  for the purpose of planting hill padi. Rattans need tall trees around them by which they grow upwards with the aid of thorns or whip-like thorn-bearing leaf-tips that are a constant menace if you are to walk through the rattan territory. Some rattan fruits are edible and can be bought at the Bintulu 'tamu' or jungle produce market.

Licuala palm species found in the Rattan area

A jungle  fungi species on the forest floor at the rattan area.