Truly weird and wonderful!

September was a fantastic month for me as I accompanied two photographers around Sabah. It gave me the chance to go back to so many of the places I really love - Sabah Agriculture Park in Tenom and Mt Kinabalu National Park, for example - as well as go to new places that are also really wonderful. These were mainly on the east coast of Sabah in Sandakan, on the Kinabatangan River and in Danum Valley (near Lahad Datu).

What I discovered was that there are some really weird plants out there - things that I have never seen in any books about Sabah! Well, a couple of them are.

Have a look at this flower:

It is in the books and it's called Amorphophallus paeoniifolius. Even its name is more than a mouthful! It stands about 30-40 cm high and just grows out of the ground with nothing else around it - reminiscent of rafflesia. It has a lovely colour and the large bit that sticks up is just like a semi-deflated (or semi-inflated) balloon. (Depends whether you're a half-empty or half-full person, I guess...) What a creation it is! It is supposed to have a strong, bad smell, but there didn't seem to be one when I was there. And this is another similarity it has with rafflesia.

And here's a close-up of a rafflesia. See the two flies? They are attracted by the rotten smell - but, again, I couldn't smell anything. Rafflesia have no roots, stems or leaves and the buds take 6-9 months to mature. They're quite difficult to find, so I've been lucky over the past couple of months to come across flowers in the Poring area.

The rafflesia have been studied in depth and you can buy books about them - but not the next two flowers! I've never seen anything like them. If you know what they are, please let me know!

This first one looks to me like something out of a science fiction movie - where they removed someone's brain and then attached it to something else to keep it alive (and I don't even like science fiction!). What do you think? It grows on a vine and is quite firm and papery to touch. Interesting colour - but look at the vein-like bits! As if you're looking at someone's very pale skin. Weird!

Then there's this next one. Attractive shape - like some regal, floating bird. But what is it? Please let me know if you have any idea. The elongated spoon-bill shape is appealing to me and so is the colour - but it's really strange! Again, it grows on a vine.

If you know anything at all about these fabulous plants, please let me know. You can email me at: jude@astsabah.com. And if you have any questions about Sabah or about our tours, please get in touch - I'd love to hear from you.