Papua New Guinea

[tropicbreeze]

Some photos from the first half of my trek. There are some palms (not a lot) and lots of other plants that I've tried to identify, but don't guarantee accuracy. Feel free to add or correct any IDs. Big extensive views aren't very common under rainforest canopy, but I did manage a few. The photos are numbered if there's any need to refer back to them.

1) View of the terrain ahead from a clearing at the start of the trek.

2) Melastoma malabathricum, also common in Australia.

3) Orthosiphon aristatus - Cat's Whiskers. Very common garden plant around the world.

4) Heavy overnight rain muddied up the creek where we camped but cleared very quickly in the morning.

5) Jamides sp. ( Lycaenidae), there are a lot of species (and subspecies) of Jamides in SE Asia through to Australia.

6) Begonia sp. Lots of species in PNG, and also there are many cultivated species in suburban homes and gardens.

 

7) Typical dense tangle of growth along a creek.

😎 Unknown plant, but feel I've seen it around in cultivation.

9) One of few breaks in canopy giving extensive view.

10) Very easy part of the trail running along the contours of the ridge.

11) Dianella sp. We have a lot in Australia but they're very similar and hard to identify to species level.

12) Epipremnum pinnatum. Also common east coast Australia.

13) Colocasia esculenta. Native to PNG and Australia, but also cultivated as food plant in PNG villages.

14) Seedling looks like Caryota sp. but some Ptychosperma also have leaves like that. Didn't notice any parent plants around.

15) Unidentified aroid

16) Hoya pottsii. Grows from Thailand through to Australia.

17) Piper sp. I believe, or at least Piperaceae family, to which the spice pepper belongs.

18) Looks like Artocarpus altilis, Breadfruit, but at least must belong to the same genus.

19) Particularly in gullies a lot of the trees and vines were draped in mosses.

20) In Australia I'd say Microsorum scandens, but that apparently doesn't occur in PNG. So possibly another Microsorum sp.

 

[To be continued]

[tropicbreeze]

21) Another easy section of trail.

22) Codiaeum sp., Croton. There are  lots of species of these in PNG, and in Australia. Many varieties have been bred from the original jungle plants.

23) Trail following the creek bed.

24) More Codiaeum sp.

25) Orchid species clinging to a small tree branch.

26) Lexias aeropa - Orange-banded Plane (Nymphalidae). I was surprised at the few butterflies I saw. I guess they would have mostly been in the top of the canopy.

27) Cyrestis achates - Map Butterfly (Nymphalidae).

28) Ligyra tantalus (possibly) - a Bee Fly. These are flies (Diptera) but belong in the Family Bombyliidae with lots of species throughout the world. The adults feed on nectar and pollen.

29) Unknown aroid.

30) Creek crossing along trail.

31) Another creek crossing, with Musa sp - Banana up on the left bank.

32) Caryota rumphiana occurs in the Philippines, eastern Indonesia and New Guinea. Some sources also place it in Queensland, but they'll be mixing it up with Caryota albertii which is endemic to Cape York Peninsula.

33) Caryota rumphiana inflorescence

34) Aroid, looks like an Alocasia sp.

35) Looks like Costas sp., Ginger family.

36) Gap in the trees giving a view.

37) Pandanus sp. with Dicranopteris linearis. Is possibly Pandanus brosimos, althought those were further east and at higher altitude. The fern D. lineris has a very wide range in the world, Africa, Southern Asia to Australia and New Zealand.

38) Unknown orchid sp. Was growing in a tree in a village, most likely put there by a local.

39) Morning view back in the direction we had come from.

40) Unknown fern species.

[To be continued]

[tropicbreeze]

41) Although looking like a Caryota, this is Ptychosperma. Seems like P. caryotoides but haven't been able to find anything to corroborate it.

42) Ptychosperma inflorescence.

43) Tempted to say Drynaria quercifolia or sparsisora, but it looks a bit different. Just have to leave it at Drynaria sp.

44) Cordyline, but don't know which species.

45) At first thought this a Calamus, but it has no spines. Remains a mystery to me. Looking back at it there's not enough detail in the photo.

 

46) House with a view.

47) No idea what this is but the colour is impressive.

 

48) All along the way there were big clumps of orchids fallen on the ground and rotting away.

 

49) Striking flower. Looking at it and the leaves (to the right) I'm guessing one of the gingers.

50) Finally a Calamus sp. The trail pretty much seems to avoid Calamus, this is the only one I saw.

[End of firsthalf of trek]

[Silas_Sancona]

   Awesome adventure..

The " unknown Orchid " (  Shot #38 )  appears to be a species of Dendrobium  in the section Latouria..   My best ...non- expert... guess species - wise  would be D. macrophyllum,   which is sometimes called " Pastor's Orchid "

Shot in the dark guess, and no clear direction on narrowing things down to a genus / Species but,  Shot # 47 sure looks like something in the Melastomatoideae to my eye..

Closer up of ..what looks like a flower cluster at the top of the plant... would probably narrow things a bit.  Neat regardless.

[tropicbreeze]

3 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

   Awesome adventure..

The " unknown Orchid " (  Shot #38 )  appears to be a species of Dendrobium  in the section Latouria..   My best ...non- expert... guess species - wise  would be D. macrophyllum,   which is sometimes called " Pastor's Orchid "

Shot in the dark guess, and no clear direction on narrowing things down to a genus / Species but,  Shot # 47 sure looks like something in the Melastomatoideae to my eye..

Closer up of ..what looks like a flower cluster at the top of the plant... would probably narrow things a bit.  Neat regardless.

Thanks for those suggestions. That's definitely the orchid, Dendrobium macrophyllum. This is what I dug up about it:

Found in Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccas, the Philippines, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu and the Caroline Islands in hot coastal primary forest jungles to cool montane forests on tree trunks halfway up the bole from sea-level to 1700 metres in elevation. A widespread, medium to large sized, hot to cool growing, usually epiphytic species

This location is about 9 degrees off the equator at about 670 m asl.

Shot #38 the leaves do look like Melastomataceae. Enlarging the original photo shows (although a bit out of focus) small fruits which look typically Melastomataceae. We have two here locally, Melastoma malabathricum and Osbeckia australiana, but neither get that sort of colouring in the leaves.

It was quite a walk. As mentioned this is around half of it. We went further into the mountains, and higher up. I'll put some photos of that up later. Took over a thousand photos (that's after having culled the rejects).

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by tropicbreeze
Spelling

[Than]

Awesome photos!! PNG seems much wilder than most places I visited in Indonesia. The plant #34 is a Homalomena I think and #40 is an Asplenium but dunno which species.

Edited October 1, 2023 by ego

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, tropicbreeze said:

Thanks for those suggestions. That's definitely the orchid, Dendrobium macrophyllum. This is what I dug up about it:

Found in Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccas, the Philippines, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu and the Caroline Islands in hot coastal primary forest jungles to cool montane forests on tree trunks halfway up the bole from sea-level to 1700 metres in elevation. A widespread, medium to large sized, hot to cool growing, usually epiphytic species

This location is about 9 degrees off the equator at about 670 m asl.

Shot #38 the leaves do look like Melastomataceae. Enlarging the original photo shows (although a bit out of focus) small fruits which look typically Melastomataceae. We have two here locally, Melastoma malabathricum and Osbeckia australiana, but neither get that sort of colouring in the leaves.

It was quite a walk. As mentioned this is around half of it. We went further into the mountains, and higher up. I'll put some photos of that up later. Took over a thousand photos (that's after having culled the rejects).

 

It looked familiar but, w/ so many different forms/ Human- created crosses, i'd assume it might not be the same Latouria -type Dendrobium you might see offered at various Orchid shows. Cool encounter none the less and appears there are several other, really unique species in the same section native the PNG..

The only other plant family that stuck out when i saw the leaves would have been something in the Pepper Family, though the leaves definitely screamed  Melastomastaceae.. Arrangement of the fruit, even from such a distance in the shot, definitely canceled out Piperaceae.  I'll keep looking to see if anything stands out.

I can only imagine how many pictures i'd take if on such a trip.  Heck, lol i can rack up 300-500 pictures on an SD card w/out realizing it on trips to interesting areas within 30-100 miles here.

Pretty sure i'd have to pack 2 or 3 more SD cards, and ..a couple??.. extra batteries if roaming around relatively intact habitat some place south of me ...in say Baja Sur,  Alamos, Mazatlan, or Puerto Vallarta for a week or two. Esp. if visiting during an exceptionally wet summer when -everything- would be active.


Regardless, sounds like it was quite an experience full of all sorts of very interesting encounters and observations. Gardens are great, but a walk through nature's garden, is  unforgettable.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, ego said:

Awesome photos!! PNG seems much wilder than most places I visited in Indonesia. The plant #34 is a Homalomena I think and #40 is an Asplenium but dunno which species.

#40 could definitely be Asplenium  .. though the thick-ish leaves, felt-y looking /  light colored, and grooved abaxial leaf surface points me more toward one of the Pyrrosia /  relative in the overall Platycerioideae  subfamily. 

Hovenkampia  (  E. and S.E. Africa ), which could easily be mistaken for an Orchid,  Pepperomia, or Hoya sp.  is in the same sub family of Ferns as well.

[tropicbreeze]

@ego, there's lots of places in Indonesia I'd like to visit. but unfortuntely life has a habit of getting in the way too often. Also wanted to go to Kinabalu but I understand these days it's buried under an avalanch of tourists. Probably still a lot of places in Sabah and Kalimantan worth seeing though. Not to mention West Papua.

I think you could be right wih the Homalomena and Asplenium, thanks.

@Silas_Sancona, the only Pyrrosia I know are epiphytes and fairly small. Although, there are many species I've never seen. Don't know anything about Hovenkampia, but as you say, it's African.

 

[CLINODAVE]

I love habitat pics, thanks so much for posting these!  It’s particularly cool to see wild forms of “croton.”

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, tropicbreeze said:

@ego, there's lots of places in Indonesia I'd like to visit. but unfortuntely life has a habit of getting in the way too often. Also wanted to go to Kinabalu but I understand these days it's buried under an avalanch of tourists. Probably still a lot of places in Sabah and Kalimantan worth seeing though. Not to mention West Papua.

I think you could be right wih the Homalomena and Asplenium, thanks.

@Silas_Sancona, the only Pyrrosia I know are epiphytes and fairly small. Although, there are many species I've never seen. Don't know anything about Hovenkampia, but as you say, it's African.

 

Tough call for sure...  Pyrrosia lingua / P.  lingua v. heteractis, and P.  sheareri  were a few of the longer-leaved sps that came to mind as possible fits when looking at the specimen you observed.. Leaves of  P. platyphylla,  splendens, and P. princeps  might be too long..


Asplenium scolopendrium  looks like a Bird's Nest sp  that comes close, but leaves are -generally- longer and thinner / greener,  w/ no felt-y white abaxial surface. Also seems leaf material extends down the leafstalk more too,  though maybe not as much on younger specimens.. No iNat observations of it in PNG ( though that doesn't mean it isn't growing there of course )

If a member there, maybe submit the picture to iNaturalist?..  🤔

 

[tropicbreeze]

Asplenium scolopendrium looks a bit like a Birds Nest Fern whose leaves have got a bit confused.😕

I've got a few things from PNG on iNat, and slowly adding more. Just a matter of working out a reasonable location.

[mike in kurtistown]

I'm not a very knowledgeable plant person, except for some palm and cycad knowledge, but when I saw number 8, I thought UGH! It looks very much like Clidemia hirta, or "koster's curse", which is one of the most invasive pests here in east Hawaii. I pull a Miconia once in a while, but Clidemia will take over a whole area before one is aware of it. Quickly grows thick woody stems that thwart trimming, and invulnerable to most familiar herbicides.

[Silas_Sancona]

28 minutes ago, mike in kurtistown said:

I'm not a very knowledgeable plant person, except for some palm and cycad knowledge, but when I saw number 8, I thought UGH! It looks very much like Clidemia hirta, or "koster's curse", which is one of the most invasive pests here in east Hawaii. I pull a Miconia once in a while, but Clidemia will take over a whole area before one is aware of it. Quickly grows thick woody stems that thwart trimming, and invulnerable to most familiar herbicides.

Not sure how widely available it is, but in the " About " section on iNaturalist, there's mention that a specific Mycoherbicide might be effective at controlling it. Specific Thrips as well, ..though they might be less effective in areas where the target plant has invaded wooded areas.

Wiki excerpt:


 

[mike in kurtistown]

I have used triclopyr, the active agent in commercial herbicides Remedy and Garlon, on Miconia crenata (Clidemia hirta is a synonym), and the plants have been burned back to some extent, but if the treatment is not repeated, they will come back.

I will keep an eye out for Collectotrichum g., but know of no commercial chemical containing it. Thanks for the lead, though.

 

[tropicbreeze]

That's definitely it, Clidemia hirta now Miconia crenata (Vahl) Michelang. Where I saw this one there was nothing much of it around. May have been a recent introduction from someone walking it in. There's a lot of information online about how bad it is as a weed.

[KrisKupsch]

On 10/6/2023 at 7:23 PM, tropicbreeze said:

That's definitely it, Clidemia hirta now Miconia crenata (Vahl) Michelang. Where I saw this one there was nothing much of it around. May have been a recent introduction from someone walking it in. There's a lot of information online about how bad it is as a weed.

Yes I found it in new cal. No one was switched on much about it: it’s going berserk 

[happypalms]

What amazing photography just taking all those photos would have taken up half the trip in time adventure of a lifetime and in png even more fun that’s living 

[Than]

On 10/6/2023 at 11:23 AM, tropicbreeze said:

That's definitely it, Clidemia hirta now Miconia crenata (Vahl) Michelang. Where I saw this one there was nothing much of it around. May have been a recent introduction from someone walking it in. There's a lot of information online about how bad it is as a weed.

A very beautiful weed indeed. I remember seeing it often in Indonesia.

[CLINODAVE]

This was such a great photo-trip for those of us who have not been to PNG.   Would there be seed-collecting opportunities there?  I realize Australia has strong restrictions upon plant/seed importations.  I live in Hawaii, and do import seed from IndoPacific locales with my U.S. APHIS seed import permit.  Wondering how to identify a guide in PNG who could lead me on a tour of these gorgeous areas you visited.

[tropicbreeze]

5 hours ago, CLINODAVE said:

This was such a great photo-trip for those of us who have not been to PNG.   Would there be seed-collecting opportunities there?  I realize Australia has strong restrictions upon plant/seed importations.  I live in Hawaii, and do import seed from IndoPacific locales with my U.S. APHIS seed import permit.  Wondering how to identify a guide in PNG who could lead me on a tour of these gorgeous areas you visited.

I never got involved in collecting or exporting so don't know the processes involved. But there are a lot of tour companies operating in PNG so just a matter of contacting them to see which offer the tour you want, or are able to tailor one for you. They would also probably be aware of the legal requirements involved in collecting and exporting.