In the realm of orchid huntings there's always a greatest prize we're all put our efforts at. Searching carefully every trunks of trees while cautiously step ( for not to stomp on a jewel orchid!) we just crave onto finding something so special. We will never could guess what is the prize to bring back and that can be just another bloody bruises or the arching pain as the only things we would bring back home. A hunter may look for something that he already had and he only come back to find some more of it in the same area. Another hunter would prefer to venture another place and he must pray to The Most Merciful to find some bounty so that he can cherish for it, for the rest of his life.

Another new species added to the collection is usually suffice enough for me to collect my trophy for the day. I love to have new species but to get something i never imagine is really something out of my mind (in my wildest dream - yes!)

This species, is the one i'm talking about. Found on a palm oil tree, it grew downward with one brach after another. Its growing pattern is somehow different for a dendrobium but all the stem and leaves seemingly to suggest it is one. Perhaps it is an Eria sp but it lack of flower bracks and the root pattern suggested it is unlikely to be an Eria sp. Recently it bloom in my yard, and i just so amazed by the flower. It also put me in another surprise when the flower last more than 3 weeks!..

January Season

It's January again. For days and days now the sky is has been flushed with deep blue and more often than usual the presence of moderate breeze to bring dryness in this northern part of Malaysia. Light downpour occasionally sweep by in the night and whenever it pours down, the mean temperature of the night's steaming hot atmosphere will drop rapidly triggering to flower the less appreciated but abundant dendrobium species here- Dendrobium crumenatum.

A typical day would start around 0730 and it will be all bright with sunny sky until sundown. All the stark heat, a clear bright sky, the dry blowing wind sets such a dramatic theater for many events of the folks here in the north and it all lay wonderfully in contrast with the red, yellow and greenish backdrop scenery this season bring. Along the highway, you can see the vastness of paddy crop being harvested and the funnel of smokes when they burned the remnant that seemingly a picturesque of a masterful art portrait.

Ah yes, the dry season has came here again to celebrate flowering of many of dry loving species. Some species of dendrobium already started to shed their leaves earlier and very soon their cane like stem will be covered with many small little buds along the nods. Bulbophyllum dentiferum sub. pink also will set to flower in this season. It is so far only restricted to Thai/ Perlis limestone area and had been well adapted to the intense heat to mark its flowering cycle. Ascocentrum miniatum in particular will be the showiest of them all when all of its brightly yellow flowers covering its plant clump.

Thrixpermum sp.

Thrixpermum adalah dari genus orkid yang berbunga kecil dan hampir kesemuanya mekar kurang dari sehari. Ada pelbagai spesis dari genus ini di Malaysia dan boleh didapati di kebanyakkan farmasi yang berdekatan. Ha! ha!! ada pulak dekat farmasi..

Kalau korang rajin berkunjung ke Cameron Highland atau melalui jalan yang melalui kawasan tanah tinggi, spesis ini biasanya dengan mudah dapat dilihat di tepi-tepi jalan. Ditemui pada habitatnya, spesis ini seringkali berada dalam keadaan berbunga. Bunganya seperti mempunyai 5 jari yang kurus-kurus dan menyerupai labah-labah. Dari tanah tinggi yang dingin berkabus hingga ke kawasan perkebunan di tepian kampung atau di pinggiran sungai yang berarus Thrixpermum biasanya bermukim dihujung-hujung ranting pokok yang terdedah pada cahaya matahari.Jika membaca buku-buku atau artikel orkid pula, ia akan dirujuk sebagai 'twig epiphyte" sesuai dengan pokoknya yang kecik dan berbunga comel itu dan keberadaannya yang di hujung-hujung ranting.

Terdapat lebih dari 100 spesis ini diseluruh dunia tapi setakat yang aku baru jumpa kat Malaysia ni tak sampai pun 10 spesis. Diantara spesis-spesis yang mungkin biasa ditemui, sebenarnya terdapat beberapa spesis yang agak istimewa walaupun kecik dan berbunga hanya sehari. Thrixpermum dari jenis ni agak susah dijumpai dan bunganya memang wangi sekali. Sekalipun tak wangi, bunganya mungkin unik seperti yang aku papar dalam posting aku ni.. ada iras seperti orkid tiger tapi kecik.

Bunga ni kawan yang jumpa walau kami mencari orkid dikawasan yang sama. Disebabkan tertarik pada keunikan bunganya, aku pun trade-in dengan bunga orkid aku.