Cryptocoryne Affnis from Selangor

The Cryptocoryne affinis from this habitat is interesting as they are found at an altitude around 700m above sea level. They are found along white sandy bank of a stream above a huge waterfall in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

The variety of Affinis found at the lower section of the river has a different form and shares some similarity with some of the Pahang variety.

These were typical of specimens found at the lower part of the river. The leaves show more colors and markings. The shape is more narrow and longer for plants that are growing submersed. 

New stock of Cryptocorynes

This week we were out to collect and stock up some of the popular Cryptocorynes as the Monsoon season begins to break over our area. Each year during the Monsoon, plant or fish collection is impossible as conditions of rivers becomes dangerous and unpredictable.

We managed to get some of these below despite fast current and high waters. I think the rain is going to pour flood many areas over the next few weeks. So plants maybe hard to come by till the break in February or March. Anyway we are happy to be able to offer some in the mean time.

As you can see the water at the river is already rising and murkier than usual, making collection very hard and impossible if you are not familiar with the river.

From Bau area, we also managed to collect some new stock of Cryptocoryne Keei.

In Sarawak the durians are beginning to ripen and we see many fruit stalls by the road side set up by the local natives.

While travelling through Iban tribal area, we came across an Iban hunter who was selling Python meat. The snake had beautiful skin but unfortunately was caught by this hunter and will end up in someone's cooking pot that day.

Until my next posting, best wishes and take care.

In search of Cryptocoryne Zukalii

We left for an undisclosed area in Pahang last weekend to search for the elusive Cryptocoryne Zukalii. Before the journey began, we were experiencing a lot of rain and weather may adversely affect our trip. However, we thank God for good weather and safety through out this trip. We were unable to locate the Zukalii nor Decus Silvae but came across some Cryptocoryne initially thought to be Cordata or Nurii. The first patch had no spathes to be seen. But some of the plants displays very nice pink leaves in immersed form.

As we head deeper into the fresh water swamp, we came across the second batch of Cryptoryne. These are quite interesting as they are unknown species at this stage. The specimens collected have spathes and seedling pods. It is possible that this could be a new species that is discovered as we were unable to obtain any description of this Crypt from various sources so far. Needless to say, samples will be sent to Europe for further study.

We also collected Crytocoryne Nurii, Cryptocoryne Cordata and Cryptocoryne Sp 'Yellow Ring' Bkt Ibam before heading home. I will post the photos once they are sorted. Until then, take care and cheers!

Cryptocoryne Uenoi 'Pink'

These plants were just collected 2 days ago from a relatively new location in Sarawak and spots pink veins on their leaves. I have started to go back to the jungles after my right knee injury healed about 2 weeks ago. Hope to add more photos as time permits during this very busy month.

Take care and see you again.

Cryptocoryne Keei

Sharing some pictures of the Cryptocoryne Keei today. They are from the district of Bau, Sarawak. The river where they are located is very polluted now. I think in future I will wear Biohazard Suit if I am collecting these Crypts. Haha!

Red spots at the throat of the spathe, when I spliced open the kettle, immediately a tiny fruit fly escaped. Anyway there were 2 other flies that did not survive as shown in the picture below.

So clearly the plants depend on the seasons and insects to help propagation. Want to see some flower in your Cryptocoryne collection. Try inducing fruit flies into your plant habitat. Until my next posting, all the best wishes!

Cryptocoryne X Purpurea var. Borneoensis

Some pictures taken earlier today of the Cryptocoryne x Purpurea var. Borneoensis at a location in South Western Sarawak. We are experiencing the dry season in Sarawak and the stream which is normally carpeted by these Cryptocorynes are dry and filled with dried leaves.

Cryptocoryne sp. Bukit Ibam

One of my favorite Cryptoryne is this one that flowers regularly in emersed form. My buddy Joshua prefers to call it the Golden Ring the coloration of the ring at the throat of the spathe do look golden at times.

Thanks for looking!

New Stock of Plants

Just to share some new photos of plants recently restocked by us. We have Cryptocoryne Bullosa from Ulu Kerian District. The spathe of this Bullosa in morning sun. The habitat still looks very healthy.

We also collected some Cryptocoryne Uenoi but water level is higher at location. Just me and some plants in the bag. 

The beautiful metallic sheen of purple colors the Cryptocoryne Fusca 'Hybrid' from Batang Ai is a very unique species. The pigmentation color is very intense and captivating to the eye. 

Cryptocoryne Striolata maybe widely distributed in Sarawak but they do appear in many different forms and colors as we encounter them. This particular sample is from Batang Ai River.

Cryptocoryne Striolata from Julau, the leaves are broader and shorter. The coloration is also different.

Until our next posting, Cheers!

Cryptocoryne Ferruginea 'Sekadau'

We just managed to get some new stock of this interesting variant from the Cryptocoryne Ferruginea family. This Ferruginea is slightly evolved from the shorter and broader leaf version more commonly seen. When we first came across it we were not sure if this was the Ferruginea or Ideii as they are quite similar. Even splicing the spathe to examine reveals slight difference but like most discoveries, we must admit that it is all good learning experience. These easy to grow and flower Crypts are have long narrow leaves. We hope to be able to post some more new pictures soon.

Cryptocoryne Ferruginea and Sp "Golden Ring"

Sorry folks, I've been on the road much and will try to keep up with new postings more. Some of you emailed me earlier, please wait and I will respond as soon as possible. Today I want to share a couple of  lovely Cryptocorynes in our collection.

Cryptocoryne Ferruginea 'Bau' displaying pretty purple and silver dust and nice tiger stripes. These emerged form do look spectacular and I hope to add new photographs of their inflorescence one of these days.

This lovely inflorescence is from an unknown Cryptocoryne Sp collected in Johor. It is perhaps one of my rarest Cryptocoryne in collection. A recent flowering gives me a chance to photograph this beauty. Hopefully it will be identified soon by the usual suspects in Europe. :)

Cheers!

Cryptocoryne Auriculata in Sarawak

On this last trip we managed to find a new location of Cryptocoryne Auriculata with Tiger Stripe markings near Julau. Unlike the Pakan version, these have longer narrower leaves in submessed form. The emersed form have shorter leaves but clear tiger stripe marking could be seen too.

I was able to visit the Auriculata at another location and managed to photograph the spathe in full bloom. If you look closely, you can see some fruitflies on top of the spathe, which I belief are the agents of polination in the wild.

Until my next posting, take care and all the best!

Cryptocoryne Uenoi in emersed form

Along our journey on this exploration, we also located a new patch of emersed Cryptocoryne Uenoi in Daerah Serian and they are looking very good indeed. The patch is grown on sand banks with lots of leaf litters around.

Thank you for visiting and reading. I will upload more photos and videos over the next few days.

Cheers!

Cryptocoryne Nurii

This beautiful Cryptocoryne Nurii from Pahang is one of my favourite plant. I love the tiger stripe markings and colors exhibited by this specimen. We also found a variant with extreme pink mutations at this location. More when I get home from my field trips.  Have a great weekend. 

Cryptocoryne Bullosa's spathe

Just wanted to share a photo of the Cryptocoryne Bullosa's spathe which is short and spots bright red flower with dark ring colar. The plant in photo is under shallow fast flowing water. Cryptocoryne Bullosa was described by Engler in 1879 and can be found in central Sarawak. Depending on the locations where the specimens are collected, they sometimes exhibit slight differences. I once had a friend who mistook Cryptocoryne Uenoi for Bullosa but flowers often is the sure way to tell. The largest species of Cryptocoryne Bullosa is found in Northern Sarawak at one particular river where their dark leaves grows to the length of nearly 1 feet long. Needless to say this variety is in deep water and collecting them in rainy season is near impossible.

Happy New Year and may your 2011 be a good year from all of us at Borneo Echo Streams!

Cheers!

Cryptocoryne Longicauda - Wild Emersed Form

My recent foray into Sumatra took me to various locations of wild fishes and plants through Central Sumatra. We travelled extensively and found that in some old locations, the wild Cryptocoryne Longicauda exposed in open areas in a drying stream due to land clearing for palm oil plantations. I amazed at the form of these plants adapting to such harsh environment. These plants grow best in shadier streams. The pH of the water is around 5.0. The base of the stream is sandy with cool water flowing through some sections.

Cryptocoryne Villosa

I am sitting here in KL LCCT awaiting my next flight to Kuching after spending a week in Sumatra with Joshua Siow. So while waiting, I decide I should update this blog with some news of our trip to Sumatra. Both of us visited some old known locations where Cryptocoryne Moehlmanii, Crytpcoryne Pontederifolia, Cryptocoryne Cordata Var Diderici and Cryptocoryne Jacobsenii were found 25 years ago. Many of the locations have been developed and the Crypts are now gone. At this location where we found Cryptocoryne Villosa, the old rubber plantations are now being cleared for palm oil plantation. This little stream will soon change as well and we are doubtful the Crypts will survive the dry season in the open. I plan to come back again and explore more of Sumatra in the coming months.

Cryptocoryne Auriculata

Cryptocoryne Auriculata from central Sarawak can be grown both in submersed or emersed form. The water pH in this location is 6.3 with a temperature around 25C. The tiger stripe marking on this crypt is beautiful and they make nice potted plants best kept in high humidity environment. 

Cryptocoryne 'Batang Ai' Sp

The Cryptocoryne 'Batang Ai' Sp is still an undescribed species, first discovered by Michael Lo a couple of years ago. I am amazed by the sheer intensity of the leaf color. It has speckles of metalic sheen with magenta on it. The tiger stripes also enhances the beauty of this Cryptocoryne. Natural habitat is fast flowing river with low pH of 6.0. Temperature of 25C. This Cryptocoryne shares the habitat with Crytocoryne Striolata, Blyxa Aurbetii, Eleocharis Acicularis.

Out on a Raining Day

Photo of Josh and Herman in action at a swollen river. It was raining at the time they got into the river. Josh had to dive for Cryptocorynes as the water was very high, while Herman was there as a decoy for crocodiles. Hahaha...I am just joking.

It has been months since my last posting as we went through a very strange season of excessive rain here in Sarawak. Much of our earlier field trip has been hampered by bad weather. So we took the opportunity to expand our quarantine facility as well as servicing local demands for planted aquariums. However last week, a couple of friends from West Malaysia came to Kuching and we went off on a 7 day journey sampling and collecting cryptocorynes and fishes in Sarawak.

Our initial plan was to visit the 2 locations of Cryptocoryne Zaidiana but it didnt materialize as our local contact there advised us not to go due to the high river water level and evening thunderstorms. We did spend days on all other different location in this ardous journey. Braving the heat of scorching sun, the rain that never fail to show up just when we are about to reach a location, swarms of blood thirsty mosquitoes, cuts and scratches climbing and rolling down steep river banks, we came home tired but happy with some Cryptocorynes and other plants. We also enjoyed the good local food along the way and I had the pleasure of catching the Live Telecast of Le Tour De France's race stage for the Tourmalet peak in a hotel room in Sibu. Overall the locations of some Cryptocorynes are in very good condition but some are dwindling due to polution or development.

Thanks for dropping by and I will update this forum more frequently now as I have several postings coming soon. Cheers!