Life Discovery

Carex canina

2011-04-07T14:19:00.007+08:00

Carex canina (Cyperaceae) is a highly restricted species which is only found in a few places in Guangdong, China including Hong Kong. It is therefore an endemic to Guangdong province. Nevertheless, it is not common at all in these localities where in the case of Hong Kong, Sunset Peak is the only locality where C. canina could be found.

Achenes of Carex canina are trigonous just like most other Carex species. It looks a bit special than the others as the angles and faces of the achenes are conspicuously contricted forming a ring of constriction at the middle part of it (as shown in the photograph above). Its achenes also have a long beak at the apex which is about 1 mm long. By combining these features, this makes C. canina quite unique among the numerous Carex species recorded in Hong Kong.

Seed dispersal of Carex species is not well documented particulary in the old world. Seeds are not brightly coloured and without fleshy part for attracting mammals and birds. Seeds are not light enough nor winged for wind-dispersal. Studies from the America suggested that many of them are dispersed by ants (Handel, 1976; Vellend et al., 2000). High endemism of Carex species, especially for the forest-understorey species, does support this hypothesis as dispersal by ants is not as effective as vertebrate-dispersal although herbaceous species are always having higher endemism than the woody species (Hamrick et al., 1992; Shaw, 1999).

References:

Hamrick J., M. J. W. Godt and S. L. Sherman-Broyles (1992) Factors influencing levels of genetic diversity in woody plant species. New Forests 6:95-124.

Handel S. N. (1976) Dispersal ecology of Carex pedunculata (Cyperaceae), a new North American myrmecochore. American Journal of Botany 63: 1071-1079.

Shaw J. C. (1999) The conservation status of Cyperaceae in Hong Kong. Porcupine 19: 16-18.

Vellend M., M. J. Lechowicz and M. J. Waterway (2000) Germination and establishment of forest sedges (Carex, Cyperaceae): tests for home-site advantage and effects of leaf litter. American Journal of Botany 87: 1517-1525.

Carex phacota

2011-03-23T10:15:00.037+08:00

Carex phacota is one of the 20-odd Carex species (Cyperaceae) in Hong Kong. It was assessed to be very rare without recent specimens. However several localities have been found recently because of more nature lovers getting interest in the diversity of local flora.

Along the inflorescence, there is only one terminal staminate spikelet where all the other spikelets are pistillate. As most of the Carex species, if not all, are wind-pollinated, the pistillate spikelet right next to the staminate spikelet received most pollen grains from the latter due to their spatial closeness from field observation. I am interested to see if this is a kind of mechanism to assure fruit production by self-pollination with this "companion pistillate spiklet".

Chlorophytum laxum

2011-01-30T18:47:00.002+08:00

Chlorophytum laxum (Liliaceae) is an inconspicuous herbaceous species found in grassland or forest edge in Hong Kong. It was listed as having restricted distribution in Hong Kong. Fruits are remarkable as the capsules are acutely three-angled.

Manglietia cf. yuyuanensis

2010-12-28T16:46:00.017+08:00

In a hiking trip in late June 2010, an atypical Manglietia species was found in a montane valley. We quickly recognized that it was not Manglietia fordiana, the only Manglietia species recorded in Hong Kong, as it has much smaller flowers than M. fordiana. It was thought to be another "taxon" no matter what taxonomic difference it refers to.

Magnoliaceae is indeed very well documented in China as they have very high ornamental and cultural value in the country. In the book "Magnolias of China", several small-flowered Manglietia were identified but the species matches only one of them, Manglietia yuyuanensis, which also has a geographic range close to Hong Kong. However, different taxonomists have different opinions on whether Manglietia yuyuanensis should be included in Manglietia fordiana. However, besides the morphological difference, we also noticed there is a difference of their flowering time which makes natural inter-breeding very unlikely to happen. Possibility of natural inter-breeding is conventionally an important criteria in taxonomy so this supports that they are at least of subspecies or variety level difference rather than a simple inclusion.

Yesterday we managed to make another trip to the valley to search for fruits but none was found. However, it is still exciting as more individuals were found. Many of them were adult tree but sapling or seedling were absent, suggesting that its regeneration is poor.

Black Rhinoceros

2010-12-23T23:06:00.008+08:00

There are currently five extant species of Rhinoceros in the world. White Rhinoceros and Black Rhinoceros are recognized as African Rhinos while Indian Rhinoceros (or Greater One-horned Rhinoceros), Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoceros are the Asian Rhinos. Among them, Black, Javan and Sumatran Rhinos are categorised as critically endangered according to the IUCN Redlist. Javan Rhino is particularly rare, maybe one of the rarest animals in the world, that less than a hundred is left on the planet. There are two disjunct populations of them in which 28-56 individuals are estimated in Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia and no more than 8 individuals in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam (WWF, 2010).

The species shown here is Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) taken in Masai Mara national park, Kenya in 2009. The reserve together with the neighbouring Serengeti national park form one of the major unfenced areas for the Rhinoceros to live in. A recent study conducted a census by aerial reconnaissance surveys and estimated that there are about 461 individuals in these two nature reserves (Metzger et al., 2007). As a whole, IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group (2008) estimated that there are a total of 4180 wild individuals in 2007 and the population trend is kept increasing.

Black Rhinoceros has once been very abundant but its number dropped drastically between 1970 and 1992 by 96% due to illegal hunting (WWF, 2010)! Demands from Middle East for ornamental uses and Asian countries for traditional medicines are the major threats to the species (that is also why the Asian Rhinos are particularly endangered). Warfare among the African countries makes its conservation difficult too.

Black Rhinoceros are indeed very susceptible to poaching as they are not only huge, but also due to their preference on habitats. They mainly inhabit and forage in grasslands and savannas which normally do not hide themselves in forests or other kind of shelters. They sometimes form group of up to 12 individuals which makes them easy to be killed off too.

I was lucky enough to see a mother with her calf wandering in the savanna in Masai Mara national park. Though I was so excited of seeing these rare magnificent animals in the wild, I was so worried of their fate in the meantime as illegal poaching is still serious in Africa.

"How are they?" I am thinking.

Good luck!

Reference:

IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group. 2008. Diceros bicornis. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <http://www.iucnredlist.org/>. Downloaded on 23 December 2010.
Metzger, K.L., A.R.E. Sinclair, K.L.I. Campbell, R. Hilborn, J.G.C. Hopcraft, S.A.R. Mduma and R.M. Reich. 2007. Using historical data to establish baselines for conservation: The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) of the Serengeti as a case study. Biological Conservation 139: 358-374.
WWF. 2010. Rhinoceros. Available at <http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/> Accessed on 23rd December 2010.

Balanophora fungosa

2010-12-16T17:17:00.002+08:00

Genus Balanophora is belonging to angiosperms (flowering plants) though it is always misidentified as some kinds of fungi by hikers. Though it resembles fungi by appearance but you could find floral structures in Balanophora such as its staminate and pistillate flowers and bracts by close observation. Also, fungi is saprophytic while Balanophora is obligate parasitic with specific hosts.

The specimen shown here is Balanophora fungosa taken in Queensland in late Oct, 2010. It actually has a wide distribution which is ranged from Northeastern Australia, Pacific Islands, East Malaysia, India, Taiwan and South Japan. It was reported having various hosts including Macaranga tanarius and Diospyros philippensis etc (Hsiao et al., 2010). It has monoecious inflorescence where pistillate flowers are on the upper part of the inflorescence while staminate flowers are on the lower part. There is also a wide range of floral color where the populations from Taiwan and Japan are pinkish orange while those in Queensland are yellow, as shown in the photographs here. Though it is considered as rare and vulnerable in Taiwan but it was found very abundant on the forest ground in Queensland, maybe due to different climate and host availability.

Reference:
Hsiao, S., W. Huang and L. Maw-Sun (2010). Genetic diversity of Balanophora fungosa and its conservation in Taiwan. Botanical Studies 51: 217-222.

Early Morning anthesis

2010-12-07T19:06:00.010+08:00

Flowers of Thysanotus chinensis (Liliaceae) open fully between around 7 am and 9 am. It was listed as rare in previous biodiversity survey.

Early morning anthesis is a common phenomenon scattered through angiosperms. Flowers of the early morning anthesis species open in early morning, probably soon after dawn and close before or around mid-day. It is suggested to prevent heat stress as anther and stigma would be destroyed by over-heating and closure of flowers would also reduce transpiration. These are reasonable explainations as most of the early morning anthesis species are herbaceous, grassland inhabitants.

It is important to note that early morning anthesis should be more related to the pollinator activity where it is the ultimate goal of floral anthesis. After a quick search on the literatures, bees were reported to be the major pollinators of early morning anthesis species including Pyrrhopappus carolinianus (Asteraceae) (Estes and Thorp, 1975) and Cassia fasciculata (Caesalpiniaceae) (Thorp and Estes, 1975). Bees were reported to forage actively for the pollen after dawn and their activities quickly reduced towards the mid-day. The close relationship between pollinator activity and timing of anthesis is interesting and I think the early morning thesis species in Hong Kong are also pollinated by bees as certain groups of them are particularly active in the morning. There is a number of candidates for observation including the ones shown here, namely Geissapis cristata (Fabaceae), Thysanotus chinensis (Liliaceae) and Xyris pauciflora (Xyridaceae).

Geissapis cristata (Fabaceae) is another rare species in Hong Kong which inhabits lowland wetland.

Xyris pauciflora (Xyridaceae) is commonly found near wet places in Hong Kong. All of the species listed here are having brightly-colored corolla. It is an important feature to send visual signal to pollinators and to offer them a landing place.

References:

Estes J.R. and Thorp R.W. (1975) Pollination Ecology of Pyrrhopappus carolinianus (Compositae). American Journal of Botany 62: 148-159.

Thorp R.W. and Estes J.R. (1975) Intrafloral behavior of bees on flowers of Cassia fasciculata. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 48: 175-184.

Southern Cassowary

2010-11-29T16:35:00.007+08:00

Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is one of the very few extant members of ratites which is a group of flightless birds in the order Struthioniformes. The other members are all quite well known including Kiwi, Ostrich and Emu. They are primitive group of birds originated from Godwana and were once a very diverse group. However, as most of them require great home range and vulnerable to human settlement, urban development and persecution, many of them had gone extinct. Unlike Ostrich and Emu, Southern Cassowary inhabits forests which mainly forages on the forest ground for fallen fruits. It occurs in Southern Papua New Guinea and Northeastern Queensland, Australia. Its population in Wet Tropics in Queensland is, however, facing habitat loss which is a major threat to the population. The Australian population is therefore listed as endangered under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and the Queensland Nature Conservation Act.

This spectacular species is on the top of my target birding list for the Australian trip. However it is a nocturnal or crepuscular species which is somewhat difficult to see during the daytime. Fortunately, with the aid of a ornithologist from CSIRO based in the Wet Tropics, I finally saw a father with three juveniles in a resort at Mission Beach, one day before returning to Hong Kong.

It is interesting to note that the breeding behavior of Southern Cassowary is unlike other birds, where the female birds or both parents are responsible to nurture the chicks. Female bird of Southern Cassowary will leave her partner immediately once after laying the eggs. The male bird will then be responsible for incubating the eggs and looking after the chicks after hatching. Male Southern Cassowary is highly territorial which will patrol its territory and forage with its chicks. The above pictures show a father with three chicks foraging at the backyard of a beach resort. They were quite curious of what we were doing when we met each other. People seeing Cassowary have to bear in mind that they are potentially dangerous to human where there are reports of people being killed by this huge bird.

P.S. Southern Cassowary is listed in the interesting book <100 birds to see before you die>. Three ratites are in the list that the other two are Common Ostrich and Southern Brown Kiwi. This encourages me to dig out pictures of Common Ostrich..

Opisthotropis andersonii

2010-10-21T21:12:00.007+08:00

Opisthotropis andersonii is not only endemic to China, but also a near-endemic to Hong Kong with a narrow geographical distribution. It has not been assessed by IUCN Redlist but no significant threat is posed to the species at the moment. It is non-venomous and very docile which rarely attempts to bite. It is commonly found in lowland streams in Hong Kong. It is not surprising to see two or more individuals in a night within the same stream.

Got a pretty nice view before night-safari.

Anisopappus chinensis

2010-10-14T22:25:00.005+08:00

Anisopappus chinensis (Asteraceae) is a Chinese endemic which is mainly ranged from South China. It is also the only species from the genus distributed in China. It has a prolonged flowering season where flowers were seen from April to October. It explicitly inhabits dry grassy slope in Hong Kong. Though it is said to be a common species, I only had a few encounter of it. However, hiking on dry grassy slope in high summer is something not very pleasant.

Agriocnemis lacteola

2010-10-13T11:40:00.004+08:00

Got some luck to see this locally rare small damselfly!

Eleocharis geniculata

2010-09-30T21:16:00.003+08:00

Eleocharis (Cyperaceae) is a large genus comprised of about 200 species. Most of them are widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions over the world. Their very broad geographical range might probably attribute to wind-pollination and wind-dispersal mechanisms, which are particularly efficient in open and windy habitats that most of the members inhabit. No leaf blade can be found in the genus where only shealth is present which is a major characteristic for the genus.

Eleocharis geniculata is uncommon in Hong Kong. Their abundance might be confined by limited suitable habitat which mainly inhabit coastal wetlands. Identification of it is easy by identifying three major characters:

Spickelets are broader than culm (shown in 1st photo);
Stigma is bifid (shown in 3rd photo);
Nuts are blackish, of about 1 mm long with 6-8 hypogynous bristles (shown in 3rd photo).

Scleria lithosperma [misidentified as Scleria biflora]

2010-09-15T18:20:00.010+08:00

The above specimen is more likely Scleria lithosperma than S. biflora. After checking a bunch of literatures I found that nuts of S. biflora should be globose, regularly cancellate and beaked with black/purplish persistent style base. It is obviously wrong for the above specimen which is having obtusely trigonous, smooth and shining nuts. Both species could have simple inflorescence which is originally thought not the case for S. lithosperma.

I here keep the original message of S. biflora. However its status might not be correct:

Scleria biflora (Cyperaceae) is most likely the smallest Scleria species in Hong Kong. Inflorescence only bears one or two florets which gives its scientific name biflora. It is quite common in Hong Kong which can mainly be found in forest edge, shrubland or path side. However, the inflorescence or nuts are too inconspicuous which might usually be overlooked. It is also difficult to photograph where the above pictures are heavily cropped in order to show its inflorescence and nuts.

Fimbristylis cymosa

2010-09-08T21:45:00.007+08:00

Fimbristylis cymosa (Cyperaceae) is one of the commonest Fimbristylis species seen in Hong Kong especially in the coastal or sandy shores. The height of the plant can be varied quite much which is ranged from about 10 to 40 cm. It has a compound inflorescence with relatively small spickelets. I roughly measured over 10 spickelets from several individuals and most of them are about 3 mm. One of the easiest way to distinguish this species from many other Fimbristylis is that it produces blackish nuts which gives its Chinese name "黑果飄拂草" (literally means black-nut Fimbristylis). Though some publications stated that its stigma is either bifid or trifid, so far I could only find the bifid one but none of them are trifid. I will correct myself if I did find the latter.

Rhynchospora corymbosa

2010-09-06T23:09:00.003+08:00

Rhynchospora corymbosa (Cyperaceae) is a globally distributed species which is reported to be found in tropical and subtropical regions. However it was previously assessed as rare in Hong Kong which can only be found in a few localities. The above individual was found in an undescribed locality which is only holding a few individuals. It mainly inhabits lowland wetland or streamside which is, therefore, very vulnerable to disturbance, channelization, development and pollution. There is indeed quite a lot of wetland-associated species in Hong Kong so it's important to take care of this habitat in order to conserve this diversity.

Fimbristylis thomsonii

2010-08-30T14:20:00.008+08:00

Fimbristylis thomsonii (Cyperaceae) is a very common sedge in grassland or hillside in Hong Kong. There are several features making it recognizable in the field: conical spickelets where scales are spirally arranged; leaf-like bracts; many spickelets (usually more than 2); and 3 stigmas on a single style which could be visible when it is in stigma receptive phase. Habitat is also a very important clue to rule out those coastal species in the long species list.

It has quite a long flowering season which has been recorded to flower since April and I could still find many blooming ones at the end of August.

Firmiana simplex

2010-08-20T12:10:00.005+08:00

Status of Firmiana simplex (Sterculiaceae) in Hong Kong is interesting. F. simplex is a very famous Chinese tree which is commonly cultivated in most parts of China where it is also originated from. However, most of the official literatures suggest wild populations of F. simplex in Hong Kong appear to be naturalized from cultivated individuals but not truly wild. Personally I am not convinced very much by this as many individuals are found far away from the hiking paths or main roads but in the valley. There is not many exotic woody species could invade into a new environment as successful as this. Also, wild populations of F. simplex are mainly concentrated to the Eastern part of Hong Kong but not the central and western regions. All these evidences seem not a natural consequence of naturalization of cultivated species but more likely to be true wild populations. Podocarpus macrophyllus shows a similar distribution in Hong Kong. Is this kind of biased distribution because of the oceanic micro-climate from the Eastern side of Hong Kong?

Firmiana simplex resembles Vernicia montana quite much if flower or fruit is not available. They are actually belonging to different family. The former is from Sterculiaceae while the latter is Euphorbiaceae. Glands are often present at the leaf base in Euphorbiaceae but lacked in Sterculiaceae. From the above picture, glands are absent at the leaf base which is a very useful clue to rule V. montana out. Also, F. simplex is sometimes called 青桐 (literally means tree with greenish bark). Picture below shows a very typical appearance of the bark of F. simplex.

Streblus taxoides

2010-08-18T17:05:00.004+08:00

Streblus, a very unfamiliar genus to me, belongs to Moraceae where about five species could be found in Hainan but none in Hong Kong. I only managed to find immature fruits of S. taxoides during my visit to Hainan in late May. Moraceae usually produces syncarp like Ficus or Artocarpus but some of the genera also produces drupe like Streblus.

Syzygium impressum

2010-08-09T16:59:00.008+08:00

Syzygium impressum (Myrtaceae) is a very recently described species which is only valid since 2008. Botanists from IBSC found some questionable specimens of Syzygium buxifolium which consistently differed from the typical one when they were preparing the Flora of Hong Kong. All of those specimens were collected from the Sunset Peak, Hong Kong. This taxon resembles S. buxifolium very much, but could be distinguished by its ovate leaves, impressed midveins and smaller fruits. It was later named as Syzygium impressum which was derived from its conspicuously impressed midveins.

There are nine Syzygium species in Hong Kong whereas identification based on vegetative parts is sometimes difficult. However, not many species have angled young branchlets where S. impressum is one of them (see below):

In addition, by careful assessment and observation, the midveins of it are conspicuously impressed adaxially.

The general apperance of it is indeed like small-leave Ilex species as its crown is very dense. Also, there isn't major habitat overlapping between it and S. buxifolium as the former is solely recorded from streamsides in montane forests but the latter is a very common shrub in lowland forest edge and shrubland.

The recent encounter reminds me that I had seen a very similar one apart from Sunset Peak. Unfortunately I didn't take any specimen or photographs at that time and there is no way to verify unless re-visiting the site. However, woody species is comparatively having lower chance to cause endemism especially in such a tiny place. It is not unexpected to find more populations of this currently-restricted species in other parts of Hong Kong, or even Guangdong. It might probably be overlooked in the past which was confused with S. buxifolium or its allied taxa.

Scincella modesta

2010-08-06T16:15:00.002+08:00

Scincella modesta is one of the smallest skinks in Hong Kong. They move very quickly and love to hide themselves under leaf litter. They are particularly easy to see in mornings or evenings. The above photographs were taken at 17:30 in summer time.

Syzygium fluviatile

2010-08-03T16:35:00.007+08:00

There is very few information and pictures of Syzygium fluviatile (Myrtaceae) available on internet and books after some intensive search. It might be because of its globally narrow distribution as it is probably a Chinese endemic. Even so, it is only found in three provinces in China, including Guangxi, Guizhou and Hainan according to Flora of China. However, a rapid biodiversity survey report prepared by KFBG, Hong Kong, stated that this species is endemic to Hainan. Indeed, it is a very common streamside shrub in Hainan based on my own observation. The specific epithet "fluviatile" means existing in or about rivers which is very true.

Scutellaria javanica

2010-07-30T16:08:00.004+08:00

Scutellaria javanica is a large Scutellaria species which could reach up to 1 m tall and has relative large flowers among other Scutellaria species. In China, it is only distributed in Hainan which is a nationally uncommon species. It can also be found in Indonesia and Philippines, suggesting it is a tropical species. Its type specimen was from Java which gives its specific name, javanica.

S. javanica is believed to be fairly common in Hainan which is mainly found near water or along streams. It is remarkably easy to identify by its large individual and dark purple flowers.

Canthium horridum

2010-07-27T14:13:00.003+08:00

Canthium horridum is a common weedy shrub in Hainan Island but a rare species in Hong Kong. Rubiaceae is a tropical family which is very diverse and predominant in Asian tropical regions. Identifying Rubiaceae is not difficult in field by its opposite leaves, persistent stipules and lack of latex. Some of its members are armed with thorns though it is quite uncommon.

Hydnocarpus hainanensis

2010-07-12T14:49:00.005+08:00

Hydnocarpus hainensis is a restrictedly distributed species in Southeast Asia which is ranged from southern China to Vietnam. The Chinese population is mostly restricted in Hainan Island. It is listed as vulnerable according to the IUCN Redlist though its status might be outdated. However, as it is mainly found in low altitude in mountaneous regions where deforestation is serious, it still constitutes certain level of conservation importance.

Based on the on-site observation, flowers emit some unpleasant smell like spoiling food. Flowers in anthesis are very easy to detach where mass dropping of flowers occur in strong wind.

Fimbristylis ovata

2010-07-07T18:50:00.008+08:00

Sedge (family Cyperaceae) is a very diverse family among angiosperms which contains over 100 genera and about 5,500 species. 23 genera could be found in Hong Kong. Previous study (Shaw, 2000) showed that Hong Kong is particularly rich in Cyperaceae among regions nearby which is probably due to rich local habitat diversity.

Identification of Cyperaceae is difficult in field whereas floral parts and fruits are tiny. Also, photos are comparatively few on internet or books, which further makes it harder to be identified.

Above shows a locally very common Cyperaceae species, Fimbristylis ovata, which mainly inhabits grasslands and wastelands. There is only one spikelet per inflorescence which makes them relatively easy to identify.

Turraea pubescens

2010-06-25T10:11:00.005+08:00

Turraea pubescens (Meliaceae) was found along streams in low altitude in Hainan. It is a small shrub with simple leaves and medium-sized flowers. It therefore didn't give impression of Meliaceae to me in the field as most of the known species are having compound leaves and relatively small flowers. Its roots are widely harvested and used as medicines by the locals.

Zhenhai Brown Frog

2010-05-09T12:36:00.006+08:00

This individual of Rana zhenhaiensis was found in Northwestern Jiangxi during daytime in late March. It looks like a typical Rana species recognized before, having a brown overall coloration and a dark ear patch. This species was firstly discovered in Zhen Hai which is a district in Zhejiang Province. It indeed has a much broader distribution which covers most part of Southeast China. It is mainly found in agricultural fields during breeding season.

Distribution map of Rana zhenhaiensis. It is endemic to China.

婺源、黃山之旅 Wuyuan and Huangshan Sight-seeing Trip

2010-04-04T21:53:00.103+08:00

黃山歸來不看嶽，婺源歸來不看村

三月二十八日至四月三日終於到了聞名已久的安徽省黃山及江西省婺源旅行，一早在攜程網預訂了深圳至屯溪的機票再花了兩、三天時間計劃行程。看過一些網上旅行日誌得知三月底是婺源油菜花盛開季節，之前聽朋友也說油菜花田是拍攝好對象，於是將婺源亦包括在今次行程次內。出發前添置了新的攝影裝備，是次拍攝工具如下：

Canon EOS-40D
Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
漸變灰 filter
67mm CPL Hoya filter

28 MAR 安徽省 - 黃山市 (屯溪)

三月二十八日晚上乘搭深航ZH9951到黃山市，晚上22:00抵達。立即搭的士(RMB30) 到一早預訂了的老街口客棧，大門及大堂跟網上看到的一樣，很有古民居風味，服務員很有禮貌，check-in後放下行李便跟服務員討論如何包車到婺源。包一天半車由屯溪到婺源再返回宏村費用是RMB700，加上路費約RMB800，比預期中的RMB1,100便宜了300元，立即成交。

老街口客棧。

第二天一早在客棧吃早餐，一早竟吃梅菜扣肉，味道一般。隨便吃過就起程到婺源。客棧原本幫我們僱用吳師傅，但他好像說沒時間便請另一師機--馬師傅載我們到婺源。馬師傅人十分熱情，善於安排及照顧我們的感受，難得是他很喜歡徽文化，是值得信賴的司機。如到黃山旅遊不妨包他的車旅遊(電話：13705595086)。

我們只花了約一個小時便到達距黃山150km的婺源，婺源其實是一個很大的旅遊區，各景點相距頗遠，基本上一定要包車才能穿梭各景區。在網上做了功課後決定到一些較為偏遠、未被嚴重商業化的景區旅遊，心儀的有江嶺、慶源、汪口、江灣等。最後因時間不夠只到了江嶺和慶源。

29 MAR 婺源縣 - 江嶺

前往江嶺的途中經過曉起，是個以古民居為主題的景區，縱使在閒日也非常擠擁，是個被商業化得很厲害的地方，我們無意參觀，直往江嶺駛去。過了曉起，不消十幾分鐘便到達江嶺，江嶺其實也有不少遊客和攝影愛好者，出發到婺源前也在客棧聽聞婺源到處都是人，油菜花被踐踏到稀稀落落，幸好我們避開了週末，人總算比想像中少。

我們每人花了60元購買門票，由山腰的檢票站下山回到山腳下的停車場，聽說是最常走的路線，預計用一個多小時可以完成。我們邊走邊拍，竟用了超過兩小時才走完。三月底是江西、安徽油菜花盛開的季節，其實不只婺源有油菜花，基本上我們整個旅程經過的地方都種滿油菜花。油菜花是當地重要的農作物，採收的是它的種籽作搾油用。過了油菜花的收成期，農民便改種稻米，等到秋後又重複種植油菜花，週而復始。

江嶺的油菜花梯田。

山上的竹海。這種竹在安徽及江西非常普遍，滿山皆是，有個地方更稱作木坑竹海，據說是觀竹的好地方。竹子在春天抽出嫩葉，遠觀確實頗有看頭。

古民居的屋頂是拍攝的好對象。

原始的村落。

江嶺村內的小孩。

不少人以自駕旅遊的方式遊婺源，對於香港人而言是有點難度。包車旅遊是不二之選，遇到好的風景可隨時停下拍照。

江嶺的特別之處是它大規模的油菜花梯田，這有別於一般見到的油菜花田。一路走下來有兩、三個觀景台，可惜我們去到的時間是中午時份，陽光太猛，不好拍照。如果可以的話，早上或黃昏到江嶺應該可拍到不少精彩的影像。

29-30 MAR 婺源縣 - 慶源

網上不少網誌皆評慶源是婺源的精華所在，未被商業化而且不收門票。慶源跟江嶺相距不遠，我們到過江嶺後便向慶源進發。

慶源亦是以古民居及油菜花作號召力吸引遊客，景色算是優美但古民居的味道還不夠濃厚。我們在「慶源驛棧」待上一晚打算翌日拍早上的慶源，可惜遇著陰雨天，拍不到好照片。如想拍到慶源全貌，不妨往高處走走，我們隨便走上附近的山腰，大致可拍到古村的全貌。

又拍屋頂。

村內的銀杏樹。

水道旁的古民居。

山腰處看到的慶源。其實還可以再往高處走，但路徑不太明顯而且趕著跟司機會合，沒再嘗試。

婺源之旅到此為止，總括而然，雖然沒去到每個景點，但還是覺得婺源有點名過於實。油菜花的規模比想像中小了一點，古民居的風味也不夠濃，「婺源歸來不看村」這句話還未體驗得到。

30 MAR 安徽省 - 呈坎八卦村

三月三十日原本打算在慶源多待一個早上便直接包車往宏村，馬師傅說時間還算充裕，不妨到距宏村不遠的呈坎八卦村看看，他力薦此村文化底蘊深厚，建築布局精奇，是真正的古民居。既然時間許可，不妨一看。

扣掉吃飯的時間，從婺源到呈坎大約花了兩個多小時的車程，到步後購了門票(好像是RMB70/person)及僱了嚮導(RMB20)，便走入這個容易迷路，在空中俯瞰呈八卦圖的八卦村。

八卦村源於宋朝，經歷了不同朝代同時亦加建了不同朝代的建築，村內最多的是明及清朝的房子。村中很多風水佈局，如沒嚮導的話根本不能猜出其用意。村子算是保存得不錯，可能因為沒有很多攝人的影像和風景，遊客並不多。如果對徽文化、建築及風水有興趣的話，呈坎也算是不錯的景點。全遊八卦村應該不會超過兩小時。

八卦村的外圍。

屋頂的佈置。

安徽緯度較香港高，冬意在三月底還未完全消退，村內帶著蒼涼的感覺。

這裡是一老伯的家，也是參觀的地方之一，大廳放著一古老德國製的木椅。

參觀完八卦村已接近二時多，大家已非常肚餓，司機載我們回到黃山市食正宗徽菜。嚐了臭鱖魚和毛豆腐。臭鱖魚味道像鹹魚，質感卻嫩滑；毛豆腐是發酵過的豆腐，味道不錯，不過辣了一點。

臭鱖魚。

毛豆腐。

食過徽菜，買過一些日常用品便出發到宏村。途中的風景也很不錯，兩旁種滿水杉，如果在秋天應該很漂亮。

我們的驕車。

30-31 MAR 安徽省 - 宏村

宏村被喻為是中國畫裡的鄉村，又有世外桃源之稱。我們這次黃山之旅當然要花點時間呼吸一下這裡的靈氣。

我們在三十日到達宏村已將近下午五時半，暮色四合，看來已不夠時間進宏村了。馬師傅幫我們在宏村景區外面找了一間價廉的客棧，放下行李便趕緊在天完黑前到外面拍照。

我們原先說好了到達宏村後馬師傅便功成身退，我們翌日自行包車去黃山。馬師傅說如果另加RMB260便可多包他一天，他提議先送我們到黃山下的一些景點遊玩再上山不遲。價格雖不便宜但我們也不計較那麼多，決定多包他的車一天。

宏村外也有宜人的景色，這個水中垂柳有些畫意。

剛巧有匹馬在吃草，是非常難得的主體。

三月三十一日一早起來進宏村，從客棧走到入口不到二百米，算是方便。我們甫入景區便看到幾間客棧在水池邊，可惜我們出發前沒做足功課，不知道原來宏村內是有客棧的，否則的話我們一定住在裡面，可惜可惜。

早上的宏村人還不多，趁人流未旺趕快拍下心儀的畫面。

經常以樹梢或花枝為前景。

踏入八時多人流漸旺，不少當地的大學生在宏村寫生。

宏村裡的月沼。

宏村其實是非常小的村落，要走完是不需要一小時的。但村裡幾個水池包括月沼是拍攝的好地方，我們大概拍到十時便回客棧吃早餐。

31 MAR 黃山九龍瀑

早上遊過宏村，當天非常大霧，師傅認為太早上山看到景色的機會微乎其微，於是我們臨時加插一新景點--黃山九龍瀑，消磨一下時間。

宏村出發至九龍瀑，途經湯口，全程約一個小時。我們大約十一時多便到達九龍瀑的入口。馬師傅預計我們約需一個多小時便可遊完九龍瀑，我們進了入口才知道要看到九龍瀑還有些距離，而且都是山路，要花點氣力。

我們花了約一個半小時才爬到九龍瀑，沿途都是山山水水，這時偏光鏡可大派用場。天氣相當清涼，但也有不少湍蛙在石上鳴叫，可惜它們太敏捷，拍不到近照。

腳架+慢快門+偏光鏡。

採竹筍的大叔。

這個就是九龍瀑，源起黃山，中途飛瀑連連，遠觀如九條龍，非常壯觀。可惜我們都只能近觀，感覺麻麻，香港的梧桐長瀑似乎不差很多。

花了近兩小時我們速逃回九龍瀑入口跟司機會合，我們預計在五時之前到山上的北海賓館check-in，時間已是一時多，我們趕緊回到湯口寄存一些山上不需要的行李及吃過午飯，便轉乘的士 (RMB 50) 到雲谷寺索道乘吊索上山。

31 MAR 黃山北海

這天山上的真的非常大霧，基本上是很難看到甚麼景色。我們到達山上白鵝嶺站便往北海賓館出發。

原來索道站跟北海並不十分相近，大概要走30分鐘的山路才能到達。可幸山路都是石板路，規劃得很好，算是十分易走。沿途在雲霧開合間看到夢筆生花，但我們都拿著行李，沒有拿出相機拍照。我們的想法其實錯得要緊，黃山上風雲變幻莫測，在山上看到的每一美景也能在短短數秒間被雲霧遮蔽，之後亦未必有幸再有機會遇到。事實上我們亦再沒機會看到夢筆生花全景，可惜可惜。

難得的風景。

我們在北海賓館check-in後便趕緊到外面找機會拍照，是日日落概率只有20%，我們也不放過機會，到附近的清涼台和猴子觀日等候雲霧開合爬拍風光，可惜到日落後眼前還是白茫茫一片。我們沒多久便打道回府，返回北海食價值RMB270的簡單晚飯。

我們睡前到酒店大堂查看翌日日出概率，也只有20%，看來機會是不大了，天氣預報更說翌日日間將下暴雨。無論如何，我們也相約04:45出發到清涼台看日出。

1 APR 黃山北海/天海

這天我們準時04:45出發去觀日出，我們此行只得三人，一同伴因身體不適放棄觀日。我們不消十五分鐘便爬到清涼亭，天氣似乎比昨天差，大霧得將近五指不見。我們等了約兩分鐘，天竟閃了一下電，我們立即嚇得逃回酒店，放棄觀日，更睡至十二時才起來。

十二時大家再度集合，天還是老樣子，大霧得連酒店的大門也看不清，天還下著小雨。既然上了山，也不想浪費時間，我們決定到光明頂、白雲賓館及排雲亭走一轉，當是為之後兩天探探路。

霧中松。

這樣走一圈原來也不短，十二時出發也到五時左右才返回北海，沿途基本上什麼也看不到，幸好有幾種雀鳥和松鼠為我們添了拍攝主題。這天加起來我想應該拍到二十張照片，心裡開始著急，擔心遲兩天都是大霧天的話就慘了。回到酒店，日出概率上升了！是30%。我們不放棄，打算再到猴子觀日觀日出，踫踫運氣吧。

2 APR 黃山北海/天海/西海大峽谷

早上04:45出發到猴子觀日，先看看日出概率，調整至40%！一望出酒店，天雖黑，但很清楚知道是散霧了！大家也非常興奮，看來有機會看到日出了！我們趕快拿出電筒跑上猴子觀日。今天明顯多了人看日出，為了佔到有利位置，我們加快了腳步，不讓後面的人趕過我們，最終佔到頭位！

山上風非常大，氣溫應只有攝氏-1度左右。我們快快打開腳架，裝好相機及快門線，等待日出一刻。等了不一會，後面的人擁到上來。一位大陸阿叔竟跨過我們set腳架，心中很憤怒但只怪自己不夠機靈將腳架放在更有利的位置。

越來越近日出時分，天也亮了。我想當時猴子觀日觀景台有超過20人吧，真的很誇張和危險。踏入預計日出的時間，雖然天是清了很多，雲還是太高和太厚了，蛋黃還是出不了來。以下是當時看到的景象。

我們多等了幾十分鐘，還是看不到太陽。今天雲海很澎湃，我們打算轉位置拍雲海。一路走下來，邊走邊拍，太陽終於越過了雲層，算是看到一個遲了很多的日出。太陽的位置太高了，天色沒被染色。雖然如此，還是拍了很多。

回到酒店，終於看到酒店的真身，原來很大很漂亮。山上竟有這樣一幢酒店，太誇張了吧。

我們這天的行程是先看日出，然後搬行李到白雲賓館，再遊西海大峽谷。我們吃過自己帶上山的杯麵便整裝出發。

前一天到過白雲賓館，知道要先爬上光明頂才能到達賓館，心中有了預備，走起來比較輕鬆。花了一個多小時，終於在十時多到達白雲賓館，趕快放下行李，確認西海大峽谷已開放，便帶著乾糧出發。

由賓館走至西海的南入口也要一小時，我們希望在天黑前逃出大峽谷，加快了腳步。未到大峽谷已遇到很漂亮的雲海，我們吸收了之前的經驗，縱使時間緊迫，還是不要放過。

這裡差不多是西海大峽谷的南入口--步仙橋。時間大約是中午十二時，預計需要4-5小時才能走完，還是快點走吧。

西海大峽谷，顧名思義是一個山谷，由南入口走至谷底約需兩小時，到了谷底後又需兩小時爬上北入口，沿途風光明媚，是黃山的精華所在，也稱夢幻景區。可惜的是當天還是大霧，沿途大部分時間也看不到甚麼，看來是不能這麼貪心了，難以在一個旅程看到所有美景。

谷底的景色，落差很大，如有畏高症的相信走這路線是極之痛苦之事。

棧道都是懸空的。

雲霧開合間的西海。

我們近五時終於走完整個西海大峽谷，大家已十分疲累及肚餓。之前打算在排雲亭等日落，但當時非常大霧，看來機會是不大了。我們掙扎了一會究竟在排雲樓先吃晚飯還是爬上光明頂等日落，最終選了後者，後來知道是明智的。從排雲樓到光明頂要走約一小時的上山路，一路走來還是十分大霧，感到看到日落機會頗微。走到差不多五時四十分，我們發覺好像慢慢走出了迷霧，看來高處並沒被雲霧淹蔽，再抬頭一看，天空竟是全清，還被輕輕染上了橙色，看來我們有機會看到日落了！我加快了腳步，往更高處跑去，爬上一高石上回頭一看：

終於看到日落了！如往高處走去，應該還有一些時間拍照。magic moment非常短暫，跑吧！

當時近光明頂的位置人已漸多，很多攝影愛好者都跑了起來，看來是被始料不到的日落殺個措手不及。我找個可拍到雲海和日落的位置快快地拍了幾十張相。

光明頂上觀日落的人不算很多，要找一個有利位置拍照不算難，如果是星期五或週末就難說了。

經歷了兩天的大霧天，看到黃山日落一幕算是值回票價了，懷著滿足的心情回白雲食晚飯。承接著日落時的好天氣，明天的日出概率有50%，要早點睡了。

3 APR 黃山天海

因為昨天的西海之旅令眾隊員五勞七傷，今天大家也晚了集合，05:00才出發到光明頂觀日。一踏出大門便見幾十人走上光明頂，儘管日出也不易佔好位置了。我們約在05:35才上到光明頂，人山人海，最有利的位置已被霸佔了，我們退而求其次地找了一角落放腳架等日出，當時天已現彩雲，但還未能預測太陽的位置。

天亮得很快，我們知道自己的位置是看不到日出的，我們趕快變陣，退到後一點的地方找位置，但地利很差，只好拍拍眾人觀日的情況。

當天雲層太厚，還是看不到日出。光明頂風大又寒冷，人潮退得很快，我們也回白雲小睡一會。

睡醒後我們也按原定計劃，拿著行李隨走隨拍的往玉屏索道站出發，完成黃山之行。這天是星期六，上黃山的人有如恆海沙數，黑壓壓的山路全是人，難怪黃山的各山峰要輪流封山養山，以彌補人們的黃山的破壞。我們看到這情況也無心戀戰，趕快下山吧。

我們用了一個半小時走到玉屏索道下山，下山後打的回到湯口，拿回寄存的行李。山上吃得不好，在山下點了很多餸菜填肚。

我們又花了RMB170包了馬師傅的車回屯溪，他帶我們到相熟的店舖買茶葉。我們嚐了黃山毛峰、太平猴魁和祁門紅茶，也不知平貴，買了幾百完茶葉當手信。我們之後到了黃山老街繼續買手信，吃過晚飯後便到機場乘飛機回深圳，黃山之行正式結束。

總結一下，我們的行程如下：

28MAR：深圳到屯溪，宿屯溪
29MAR：包車到婺源江嶺和慶源，宿慶源
30MAR：早上遊慶源，中午到呈坎八卦村，下午到宏村，宿宏村
31MAR：早上遊宏村，中午到九龍瀑，下午上黃山，宿黃山北海
1APR：北海觀日出，全天遊北海和天海，宿黃山北海
2APR：北海觀日出，搬行李至天海，日間遊西海大峽谷，光明頂觀日落，宿黃山天海
3APR：光明頂觀日出，中午下降慈光閣，回屯溪，乘晚機回深圳

注意事項：

婺源油菜花盛開季節在三月中下旬，盡量避免週末遊婺源。
雖然我們這次沒去西遞，但如對古村有興趣，應包括西遞至旅程中。
要拍好照片，宏村不妨多留一些時間，早上或黃昏的宏村特別有靈氣，晚上應宿宏村裡面。
安徽和江西旅遊發展蓬勃，酒店、賓館和客棧質素高，如想住好一點，還是提前預訂較穩妥。
黃山酒店必須提前預訂，酒店質素高，房間提供風筒，非常有用。出發前應計劃好路線、觀日出日落地點，預訂酒店配合，不用走多餘的路。
西海大峽谷每年12月1日至3月31日不對外開放，這點要特別注意。
包車旅遊非常方便(尤對攝影愛好者為甚)，如果團隊是四人或以上，還是包車吧。
到黃山旅遊盡量不要帶多餘的東西，山上景點間主是山路，需要相當體力。

Tainia hongkongensis

2010-03-17T14:39:00.012+08:00

Type specimen of Tainia hongkongensis was collected in Hong Kong and it is quite narrowly distributed geographically. T. hongkongensis is the commonest species among the three Tainia in Hong Kong. The other two are T. ruybarrettoi and T. dunnii. It is not difficult to seperate them where the lip of T. ruybarrettoi is distinctly three-lobed while that of T. hongkongensis is entire or subentire. No photo of T. ruybarrettoi at the moment and I'll try to come back to this after finding it. Pseudobulb of T. dunnii is thin and cylindrical but that of T. hongkongensis is swollen and ovoid (or nearly globose). The difference of them should be distinctive.

T. hongkongensis is one of the commonest orchids in Hong Kong which can mainly be found under forests or forest edge. It is used to flower in April in Hong Kong but started few weeks earlier this year, probably deceited by the last humid and warmer winter.

Close-up of the lip of T. hongkongensis.

Key to genus Tainia in Flora of China:
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/PDF/PDF25/Tainia.pdf
Illustration of T. ruybarrettoi:
http://www.hkflora.com/v2/new_species/drawing/page026.jpg

Michelia chapensis

2010-03-11T11:35:00.005+08:00

Michelia chapensis is a a rare species in Hong Kong listed under the 100 rare and precious plants of Hong Kong and protected under the Forestry Regulation cap. 96A in Hong Kong. Like most other members in the family Magnoliaceae, its flower is protogynous where stigma matures before stamens, self-compatible and pollinated by beetles. It is only found in the montane forests and restricted to Tai Mo Shan region in Hong Kong. It flowers in March and fruits mature in November or December. Like most other Magnoliaceae species in Hong Kong, seedling or young tree of M. chapensis is mostly absent from its natural range indicating its poor natural recruitment and reproduction.

Enkianthus quinqueflorus

2010-01-21T15:21:00.008+08:00

Enkianthus quinqueflorus, known as 'Hanging Bell' in Chinese, belongs to the family Eriaceae which is one of the few woody species blooming in late winter. It is protected under the Forestry Regulation Cap. 96A in order to prevent them from being over collected for ornamental uses, which was commonly happened in the past, particularly in the New Terrestories. As its flowering season is near the Chinese New Year, it was logged and sold in the flower markets during the New Year period, threatening the local population. Practically it has a healthy population in Hong Kong which is generally treated as a widespread and common species in Hong Kong's hillside.

Spectacular scenery in Nam Sang Wai

2010-01-21T13:53:00.013+08:00

It's not wise to visit Nam Sang Wai during overcast day if you would like to spend a morning there to enjoy photographing birds. They could hardly stand out from the background as sunlight is unavailable. Tide was particularly low during my visit today and it's a pity that fish boat had interrupted and flushed the large flocks of ducks away. Fortunately the early morning light is great enough to paint the sky, offering a special chance of seeing rosy clouds.

Diversity of birds was disappointing today. I personally enjoy seeing Black-faced Spoonbill pretty much and they gave me several decent views which excited me a bit.

Grey Heron seems not easy-going which usually acts quite fierce to other smaller birds.

Black-headed Gull is the most abundant gull species wintering in Hong Kong.

Wake up early and you'll see something different.

Birding at Nam Sang Wai, Hong Kong

2010-01-15T15:20:00.013+08:00

Nam Sang Wai is a wetland located at the northwestern part of Hong Kong, which is a part of inner Deep Bay area. It is a famous place for birdwatching which houses quite a lot of waterbirds including gulls, ducks, cormorants, avocets and egrets, particularly in winter. It worths you spending a day there to enjoy the fun of birdwatching as the diversity of the birds is usually satisfactory. Most birds could be seen at low tide, at about 0.5 to 1 m.

Even during the weekday, there are still quite a lot of photographers, carrying loads of gears, stationing at the estuary for bird-photography.

Northern Pintail is a common wintering duck species in Hong Kong. It is comparatively large to other ducks and is recognized by its longer neck, rounded head and pointed tail. Males are distinctive. They usually arrive Hong Kong in late October and leave in early April.

Northern Shoveler is another common winter visitor in Deep Bay. It is slightly smaller than Northern Pintail, reaching about 50 cm length. Its broad spatulate bill is diagnostic which makes it one of the easiest duck to identify.

Heuglin's Gull is the most abundant large gull wintering in Hong Kong. Identifying large gulls is always difficult even to the experts which requires intensive practices.

Nam Sang Wai is one of the magor night roosting sites of Great Cormorants, where generally holds over 3,000 Cormorants in winters.

Black-faced Spoonbill, a well-known endangered species according to the IUCN Redlist, could commonly be seen in Nam Sang Wai during winter. You should grap a chance to see this spectacular species if you haven't seen it yet!

Pied Avocets are feeding on the intertidal mudflat.

Birdwatching in a chilling winter could still be pleasant and enjoyable!

Ficus microcarpa and Ficus concinna

2010-01-14T21:07:00.010+08:00

Ficus microcarpa taken in Lung Fu Shan, Hong Kong Island.

Ficus microcarpa (Moraceae) is a well known and popular tree species in Hong Kong due to its frequent occurrence near where people lives. It grows and develops quickly and has a broad and dense canopy which makes it particularly good to provide shade. Among the native Ficus species in Hong Kong, it is one of the few species which has small and elliptic leaves with tapering base. Ficus microcarpa is a widespread species in Asia (mainly Eastern and Southern parts) and Australia.

Ficus concinna taken in Sai Kung area, Hong Kong.

There is another small leaf Ficus species which resembles F. microcarpa quite much, which is Ficus concinna. It is a recent discovery which had probably been overlooked in the past. Only a few individuals have been found so far. Its appearance is like Ficus microcarpa but aerial roots are mostly absent. Also, leaf veins of F. concinna is more conspicuous than that in F. microcarpa (See photographs above). By combing these differences you will probably be able to seperate them in the field! Start checking small-leaf Ficus and see if you could find more F. concinna!

Asarum caudigerum

2010-01-12T12:25:00.004+08:00

Asarum caudigerum (Aristolochiaceae) is recently discovered growing near an abandoned village in Hong Kong. It is a new addition to the Hong Kong vascular plant list, with an unclear origin. A. caudigerum is naturally distributed in Central and South China, and to Vietnam. However, this species is also used medicinally in the past and only one colony is found so far. Thus, Possibility of being cultivated cannot be satisfactorily ruled out. Being a naturalist, I personally wish this is from a natural origin which further enriches the local biodiversity.

It should be noted that there is no petal in Asarum. The perianths shown in the photographs are indeed its sepal. Its specific name caudigerum is named based on its slender caudate sepal. It's definitely a fabulous species to see!

Commersonia bartramia

2009-12-03T22:25:00.007+08:00

Which family do you think the above specimen is belonging to? Four of us had different guesses after meeting this strange and unfamiliar tree which include Moraceae, Sterculiaceae, Elaeocarpaceae and Euphorbiaceae. The answer is Sterculiaceae or Tiliaceae depending on taxonomic treatment. Meeting unfamiliar species is always funny and exciting in the field which is like an assessment to your identification, integration, logical thinking and association skills.

Only one species under the genus Commersonia, Commersonia bartramia, is distributed in China which is mainly distributed in southern parts of China including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan. It flowers in winter but the exact date depends on regions and altitude. It has considerable economic uses where bark and fiber are used for weaving.

Leopard, Panthera pardus

2009-10-12T21:48:00.013+08:00

Leopard (Panthera pardus) is belonging to the "Big Cats" genus, Panthera, which contains four members including Lion, Tiger, Jaguar and Leopard. Leopard is the smallest member within the genus. It has a broad distribution which ranged from most of sub-Saharan Africa, Arabian Peninsula, India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. It has a status of Near-threatened according to the IUCN Red List (ver. 2009.1) with decreasing population trend.

These photographs were taken in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya. This individual completely ignored the vehicles and humans surrounding it and was trying to hunt. It even made use of the vehicles to hide itself from the prey. It is quite rare to find Leopards during the daytime according to the guides as they are mainly active at night and resting on trees during the daytime.

Unidentified Eunoymus

2009-10-12T17:51:00.004+08:00

An Euonymus species found on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, is recently recognized not recorded before. It is quite surprised that there is still unidentified/unrecorded woody species in Hong Kong as they seem not to be easily overlooked in the previous extensive surveys conducted by various parties, including AFCD, KFBG and HKU etc. Even though specimens of flowers and fruits have been collected, the identity of this species is still unsolved, which means, it is probably a new species in Guangdong, or even China. Identification work is supposed to be done by IBSC, South China Institute of Botany.

This Euonymus species is highly restricted to a small area in Hong Kong, which is thought to be a very rare species in Hong Kong. It looks like another commoner Euonymus, E. laxiflorus, when flower or fruit is not observed. You might find its flowering season in early June where its fruits mature in December.

Lantau Island

2009-09-10T19:30:00.003+08:00

Neolucanus sp.

2009-08-19T12:22:00.000+08:00

Coleoptera, largely known as beetles, is the largest member amongst all insects in the world. There are about 350,000 described species within the family in the world which represents more than 40% of all insects and nearly 30% of all animal species. However, the number of the described insects is still thought to be highly underestimated.

The photographed Neolucanus sp. was found at high elevation in Hong Kong. I've seen a number of this species appearing mainly around late May to Mid July these two years.

Euphoria atoto

2009-06-08T21:52:00.003+08:00

Genus Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae)
Euphorbia is the type genus of Euphorbiaceae while all species have milky juice. All succulent Euphorbia spp. contains poisonous sap in which people maybe poisoned by even touching the plant. Some of the poison are extremely dangerous. Euphorbia is a huge genus having around 2,000 species dispersed over nearly the whole world. Over 80 could be found in China including 11 in Hong Kong.

Euphorbia atoto inhabits sandy seashore area giving its common name Littoral Euphorbia. It is a restricted species in Hong Kong but quite widespread in South and South-east Asia even to Australia. Flowers are tiny and unisexual which is quite hard to see clearly in the field.

Trip to Northeastern Guangxi

2009-05-31T21:49:00.001+08:00

Have been to Guilin (桂林) and Longji (龍脊) from late April till early May. A peaceful place to stay and visit while the scenaries are spectacular. It is said that the rice terraces in Longji would be fully flooded at the end of May giving that the most spectacular scene each year. It's really worthy to visit there more than one time to see the different scenes in different times of a year.

I'd also spent one and a half day to visit Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge (程陽風雨橋) which is quite far away from Guilin (about 100 km away from Guilin). It is actually part of the buildings by Dong Minority in Guangxi. The buildings in that village all looks traditional as all of them are made by wood. People are nice and the food are great. It's worthy to go if you are interested in these cultural heritage.

I walked from Yang Ti (楊堤) to Xing Ping (興坪) in order to have a new experience to visit Li River (漓江) apart from joining the boat trip. Not much good view could be seen along the way but you can get closer look on the local villages and farmlands. The walk is not short which spends you about 6 hours to finish.

Styrax faberi (白花龍) was commonly seen in the Longji area.

Weigela japonica var. sinica (半邊月) was abundant in the Longji area. It's quite unexpected that it is belonging to the family Caprifoliaceae (忍冬科) while I originally thought it is something inside Myrtaceae (桃金娘科).

Several individuals of Rhododendron stamenium (長蕊杜鵑) was seen in the Longji area. It does look like Rhododendron moulmainense (羊角杜鵑) which is native to Hong Kong but the flowers of the former are smaller and the stamens are longer. They belong to the same subgenus.

Polygonatum cyrtonema (多花黃精) was also seen in the Longji area.

I enjoyed photographing Lyonia ovalifolia var. lanceolata (狹葉南燭) very much as Lyonia is very rare in Hong Kong and the flowers are so delicate.

Liquidambar formosana (楓香) could be commonly found in Guilin and Longji.

Arisaema erubescens (一把傘天南星) is very common in Longji area while it is so localized in Hong Kong. Montane habitat might be not enough for it to grow in Hong Kong.

Actinidia chrysantha (金花獼猴桃) could be found in both Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

Hylarana latouchii

2009-05-21T22:30:00.005+08:00

Hylarana latouchii belongs to the family Ranidae which is distributed in South China, including Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It is a common species inhabiting forests and breeds in marshes, pools and also slow-flowing streams. It is listed as Least Concern according to the IUCN 2008 Red List which indicates that the species has a stable population with significant size.

Iris speculatrix

2009-05-08T11:25:00.007+08:00

Genus Iris (Iridaceae)
A genus with about 200-300 species which is widely distributed in the north temperate region. They inhabit a variety of habitats ranging from montane areas, grassy slopes to riverbanks. Iris has a very old history in horticulture as all shows spectacular flowers.

Iris speculatrix is also known as Hong Kong Iris as this species was firstly discovered on Hong Kong Island around a century ago. It is found that this species is actually distributed widely in South China after more detailed surveys were done in the mainland. I. speculatrix is indeed rare in Hong Kong which is listed as rare and precious plant species in Hong Kong. It is also protected under the Forests and Countryside Ordinance (Cap. 96) from being over-collected for ornamental uses.

Chicks of Barn Swallow

2009-04-21T21:54:00.004+08:00

Chicks of Barn Swallow had been seen waiting and seeking for food in their nest desperately. This is a fantastic scene to see!

Aristolochia thwaitesii

2009-04-06T22:27:00.009+08:00

Genus Aristolochia L. (Aristolochiaceae)
Aristolochia is widely know as Birthworts which refers to the shape of the flowers as it resembles a birth canal. It contains about 400 species which is mainly distributed in tropical , subtropical and temperate regions of the Old World and also Australia. There are 45 species in China including 5 in Hong Kong. Other genera in Aristolochiaceae could be found in China include Asarum (細辛屬), Saruma (馬蹄香屬) and Thottea (綫果兜鈴屬).

Flowers of Aristolochia are protogynous, where the pistil gets mature before anthers. Pollinators carrying pollens are attracted by the flowers and enter the flowers. They are then trapped by the flowers as the retroactive hairs in the throat of the flowers help preventing the pollinators from escaping. After that, the flowers wither and the anthers dehisce. Pollens are then released onto the trapped pollinators. They are released afterward and visit other flowers to carry pollination again.

Breeding Swallows in Hong Kong

2009-04-01T20:26:00.014+08:00

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is an abundant passage migrant in Hong Kong especially in Spring while some are summer visitors which breed in Hong Kong. It nests in a variety of places which has a widespread breeding distribution in Hong Kong. Nesting birds are thought bringing fortune and they are used to be protected by local people in Hong Kong.

Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica) is used to be an uncommon passage migrants and also winter visitors in Hong Kong. It is also found to be a breeding species in Hong Kong recently which nests in northern New Terrestories. The architecture of its nest is different from that of Barn Swallow which could be easily identified.

Flora in Nanling, Guangdong (Part 3)

2009-03-28T23:10:00.016+08:00

A prolonged and severe cold spell in winter 2008 had brought a ecological disaster to the forests in Nanling National Nature Reserve. Over 90% of the trees were destroyed during that period which caused an unbelievably huge economical and ecological destruction. It was estimated that the forest might need about 30 years to recover. Most of the forest areas with closed canopy in previous years has become open woodland or shrubland areas with open canopy. Trees were particularly suffered from the frost damage. It is noted that the Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations suffered the most where fallen China fir were seen everywhere.

The natural environment in Nanling and Mangshan is one of the best in Guangdong province. It is however susceptible to tourism and management should be made with ecological and geological sense.

Mecodium badium (露蕨) shows a lips-like indusium.

One individual of Buxus megistophylla (大葉黃楊) was seen in XiuHuangShan.

Epimedium sagittatum (三枝九葉草) is a well-known herbaceous plant with high medicinal value. It belongs to the genus Epimedium (淫羊霍屬).

Chirita fimbrisepala (螞蝗七) is widely growing on steep and moist rocks in waterfall group in Nanling Nature Reserve.

Acer fabri (羅浮槭) is widely distributed in Guangdong but not including Hong Kong.

Rubus corchorifolius (山莓) has axillary inflorescence with single flower. There is not many Rubus spp. showing this kind of inflorescence in Guangdong.

Stachyurus chinensis (中國旌節花) belongs to a small family Stachyuraceae with about 17 species which is mainly restricted to East Asia. The whole family doesn't exist in Hong Kong. This species is widely distributed in Central and South China and also Vietnam.

Flora in Nanling, Guangdong (Part 2)

2009-03-28T13:22:00.014+08:00

Threats to Nanling National Nature Reserve had been identified in recent years in order to make recommendations to the reserve by many academic and conservation parties. Developments and humun disturbance are inevitable but the sustainability of the reserve should be taken into account seriously. Logging had long been a problem in Nanling but was officially banned since the establishment of the reserve. The adverse effects of logging in the past are still visible nowadays as the logged areas have been degraded to Cunninghamia lanceolata (China Fir) plantation. Hydroelectric station at the entrance of Nanling would definitely disrupt the stream ecosystem and flooding of forests.

Illicium jiadifengpi (假地楓皮) was found in montane forests at an elevation of about 1,500 m in Mangshan Nature Reserve.

Tsuga tchekiangensis (南方鐵杉) is endemic to China and considered as vulnerable. It is also a tertiary relic species having a very old history!

Pieione bulbocodioides (獨蒜蘭) was commonly found growing on steep rock surface with mosses. Nanling Nature Reserve contains rich diversity of orchids. 49 had been recorded in previous survey done by KFBG. Pieione sp. is one of the most abundant orchid species in good forests.

Huperzia serrata (蛇足石杉) was regularly seen in both Nanling and Mangshan.

Tubocapsicum anomalum (龍珠) is the only species in the genus Tubocapsicum in China.

Chionographis chinensis (中國白絲草) is very rare in Hong Kong but it is very abundant in Nanling!

Flora in Nanling, Guangdong (Part 1)

2009-03-26T21:07:00.023+08:00

Nanling National Nature Reserve (南嶺國家級自然保護區) is located in the northwest Guangdong adjoining Mangshan National Nature Reserve in southern Hunan. It is very rich in flora where 2431 species in 210 families have been recorded. 36 rare and endangered species were identified including 8 gymnosperms and 28 angiosperms. Making trips to visit Nanling to appreciate its rich flora are not difficult but rewarding. There are extensive network of walking trails to assess sites with rich flora diversity such as Waterfall group (瀑布群) and XiaoHuangShan (小黃山).

Pinus kwangtungensis (華南五針松) is commonly seen in Nanling National Nature Reserve. It is considered as vulnerable in China.

Anneslea fragrans var. hainanensis (海南茶梨) is rare and localized in Hong Kong but commonly grows in the hillside in Nanling.

Dichocarpum dalzielii (蕨葉人字果) was commonly found along streambanks.

Polygala koi (曲江遠志) is a beautiful subshrub regularly seen in Nanling.

Gentiana panthsica (流蘇龍膽) was found in high elevation in Mangshan National Nature Reserve.

Michelia mauadiae (深山含笑) is common in both Nanling and Mangshan Nature Reserve. White patches could commonly be seen on the hills.

Rhododendron latoucheae (鹿角杜鵑) was the only flowering Rhododendron during my visit. Maybe it's still early to see the blooming of Rhododendron in March.

Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala)

2009-03-13T11:09:00.003+08:00

Black-headed Bunting is a passerine bird which breeds in Southeast Europe east to Iran and winters in India. It occassionally occurs in South China including Hong Kong, averaging 1-2 individuals per year. This individual is a female bird wandered to Hong Kong from about 16th Nov to 19th Nov 2008. Its occurrence attracted many birdwatchers and photographers to visit it.

Buntings is a group of birds belonging to the family Emberizidae which is phylogenically closed to finches, Fringillidae. Buntings is seed-eating birds. This hungry passerine was attracted to spend a lot of time on consuming a locally common weed, Digitaria sanguinalis, in Long Valley.

Elaphe porphyracea nigrofasciata

2009-03-13T10:23:00.006+08:00

Elaphe porphyracea nigrofasciata is a rat snake species that is mainly found in upland forest in Hong Kong which gives its common name, Red Mountain Racer. It is described as crepuscular but most of the individuals were found in the daytime. According to Karsen et. al. (1998), the snake is considered to has a timid and docile disposition. However, this individual attempted to bite vigorously when it was discovered and handled. It is not as docile as expected.

It is interesting to know that the whole body of a snake is covered with scales, including its eyes. Snakes do not have eyelids while its eyes are covered with a transparent scale called spectacle. This structure will turn cloudy when the snake is ready to shed its skin off, causing the snake temporarily blind!

References:
Karsen S, WN Lau and A Bogadek. 1998. Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles. The Provisional Urban Council, Hong Kong.

Aspidistra punctata

2009-03-05T17:26:00.007+08:00

Genus Aspidistra Ker-Gawl. (Liliaceae)

Aspidistra is an east Asian genus distributed from Eastern India, Indochina, China and Japan. It was previously reported that only 10 species were in the genus in late 1970s. However, it was later revised that at least 93 species are described and it is estimated that there should be about 200 to 300 species in Aspidistra. It was greatly under-estimated in the past because it was used to be ignored by the field botanists. It is definitely not easy to identify them if it is not flowering.

The Aspidistra bears a bell-shaped flowers closed to the ground which was thought to be pollinated by slugs. However, scientists later found that slugs are of no interest in the flowers but prey on the snails. Amphipods were observed to be the prominent pollinators of the species, A. elatior. It was found consuming the pollens stored inside the flowers, and hopping to another flowers.

Between the disc-like stigma and the corolla, there are several narrow poles, through which the amphipods gain access to the stamen. The stigma then acts as a block to rain and other flower-damaging arthropods, and as a gate for the selected pollinators. Aspidistra shows an interesting and spectacular floral-pollinator relationship.

Agathia lycaenaria

2009-03-05T09:20:00.003+08:00

A moth with great camouflage was hiding under a leaf. Its flattened body and green wings with dark spots blends itself into the background very successfully.

After passing an exceptionally warm February, Lepidoptera is unexpectedly much active.

Schoepfia chinensis

2009-03-02T21:44:00.006+08:00

Schoepfia Schreb. (Olacaceae)
A tree or shrub genus consists of about 30 species distributed in tropical and subtropical America and Asia. Only 4 are found in China while 1 in Hong Kong.

Schoepfia chinensis is endemic to the mainland which is mainly distributed in South China. It is uncommon in Hong Kong which is protected under the Forestry Regulation. I've recently discussed about tree planting with students studying landscape architects. There are quite a lot of tree or shrub species that are suitable to be planted in Hong Kong rather than the exotic ones. Though the growth rate of the native species might not be as fast as Acacia or Eucalyptus, they are much more valuable in terms of their ecological value. Also, some of them are of high ornamental value, such as this Schoepfia.

Weeds in farmlands

2009-02-25T09:52:00.004+08:00

Because of some occasion, I need to get contact with the weeds found in the farmlands and also assess their harmfulness to the crop. I was surprised by the diversity of the weeds as the weed composition is quite different in different timing of a year, and also the beauty of them. They are actually not common in Hong Kong as they are mostly restricted to the farmland areas. Some of them are even locally rare. However, farmland in Hong Kong is shrinking which may affect this diversity. I wonder if there is anyone care about this.

Machilus kwangkungensis

2009-02-20T21:08:00.003+08:00

Genus Machilus Nees (Lauraceae)
A small genus in Lauraceae consists of about 100 species, mainly distribured in tropical and subtropical South and Southeast Asia. Most of them, ca. 85 species, are in China including 12 species in Hong Kong.

Machilus kwangkungensis is a rare and restricted species in Hong Kong where it is only found in Ho Sheung Heung and Kwu Tung, located at the Northern part of Hong Kong. It is indeed a narrowly distributed species which is restricted to a few provinces in the mainland, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and Hunan. In other words, the population in Hong Kong is nearly at the southern extreme of the range of this species. Identification of Machilus is very hard as many of them are morphologically very similar.

Brown Crake (Amaurornis akool)

2009-02-09T20:37:00.003+08:00

Brown Crake is probably a rare resident or irregular visitor to Hong Kong that was found breeding in Hong Kong. Its occurrence would attract crowd of people to visit it and photograph it. Disclosure of its location would bring pressure to not only the bird, but also the residents operating the fish pond. Birdwatchers or bird-photographers should respect and understand the others in order to establish a positive image for themselves. It's all about self-discipline.

Ardisia pusilla

2009-02-05T10:26:00.004+08:00

Genus Ardisia Swartz (Myrsinaceae)
A large and widespread genus consisted of about 400 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. 65 species are in China including 14 native species in Hong Kong. Their nature varies quite a lot while some like A. hanceana are shrub that may reach 3 m tall but the one shown in the above picture is small shrub that can only reach about 30 cm tall.

Ardisia pusilla is uncommon but quite widespread in Hong Kong that you may find it on Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island and in the New Terrestories. It grows mainly along stream banks under evergreen forests. Canopy cover should be complete enough to avoid too much sunlight reaching the place where they grow as a moist and shaded environment is required.

Castanopsis fordii

2009-02-03T19:03:00.007+08:00

Genus Castanopsis Spach (Fagaceae)

A fairly small genus composed of about 120 species over the world. It is mainly found in South East Asia where China contains 58 of them and there are 10 native Castanopsis in Hong Kong.

Castanopsis fordii is widespread in South East Asia which is recorded in 8 provinces in the mainland China and also in Thailand and Vietnam. However, it is rare in Hong Kong as there is only a few localities of the species and the population sizes keep very low. One reason for its rarity might be because of its domestic and economical use. It was previously used as fuelwood and its populations in Hong Kong might be heavily harvested in the past during the second world war. Finding of C. fordii in Hong Kong would be a hard work nowadays.

Chirixalus romeri (Previously known as Philautus romeri)

2009-01-23T17:00:00.007+08:00

Chirixalus romeri is one of the 23 amphibians in Hong Kong which has a very narrow distribution in the world as it is endemic to Hong Kong. It is only found in the outlying islands in Hong Kong including Lantau, Lamma and Po Toi making them very susceptible to human disturbance or urban development. It is listed as endangered in IUCN red list 2008.

Recently there is a slope reinforcement work on Lamma Island that may affect a freshwater marsh holding a population of these tiny fragile frogs. Ex-situ conservation measures were conducted in order to reduce the impact on the natural population. There are several advantages for keeping them in captivity as it would not affect the gene pool and the competition of other population and it helps the scientists to know more about the ecology of the species including the breeding phenology and living conditions.

It's still unknown why Romer's Tree Frog is only distributed on the outlying islands but not Hong Kong Island and the New Terrestories. It's a matter of biogeography including plate tectonics and ice ages. However, too little is known in order to solve this complicated question.

Targets 2009

2009-01-12T22:27:00.010+08:00

It's time to set some targets for plants at the start of 2009:

Tsoongiodendron odorum	觀光木
Rehderodendron kwangtungense	廣東木瓜紅
Castanopsis fordii	毛錐
Stauntonia decora	翅野木瓜
Sabia swinhoei	尖葉清風藤
Millettia pachycarpa	厚果崖豆藤
Diospyros tsangii	廷平柿
Hartia villosa	毛折柄茶
Ternstroemia kwangtungensis	廣東厚皮香
Strychnos cathayensis	華馬錢

and also for birds..

Fujian Niltava

Yellow-browed Bunting

Sulphur-breasted Warbler

Bay Woodpecker

Large Grass Warbler

Russet Bush Warbler

Dusky Thrush

Pectoral Sandpiper

Lanceolated Warbler

Greater Scaup

Japanese Robin

Diospyros tutcheri

2009-01-01T22:13:00.007+08:00

Genus Diospyros Dunn (Ebenaceae)

One of the three genera in the family Ebenaceae which is comprised of about 500 species over the world. It is mainly distributed in the tropical region while some extending to the temperate region. There are about 60 species in China where 6 can be found in Hong Kong.

Diospyros tutcheri is widespread in Hong Kong which can be found on Sunset Peak, Tai Mo Shan, Pat Sin Leng and Tai Tam etc. However, it is still one of the rare Diospyros species in Hong Kong while another one, D. tsangii, is even rarer.

Asarum hongkongense

2008-11-29T19:35:00.009+08:00

Genus Asarum L. (Aristolochiaceae)
contains about 90 species, mainly distributed in SE Asia. 39 species occur in China in which one is endemic to Hong Kong - Asarum hongkongense, a critically endangered species.

Flowers of Asarum are close to the ground and have strange shape. It is commonly believed that flowers of Asarum are pollinated by insects due to the traits of the flowers like the calyx surface ornamentation, tiny glands on the inner calyx surface and caudate sepal lobe extensions. Unlike most flowers of Aristolochia, flowers of Asarum give no bad odor which suggests Asarum is not imitating animal corpse that attract flies to pollinate. An old study suggested that the flowers resemble mushrooms that attract fungal gnats to lay eggs inside the flowers which may pollinate the flowers. However, more recent studies demonstrate that Asarum produces autogamous flowers which undergo self-pollination. The putative insect-attracting floral characters are therefore primitive which maybe derived from an insect-pollinating ancestor.

Flowers of Asarum are protogynous. The stigmas are receptive at the beginning of anthesis while anthers lie horizontally at the bottom of the flowers so that stigmas and anthers are spatially separated. In the later stages of the anthesis, the stamen filaments become erect (See the second picture) and the anthers dehisced to release pollen grains which promote intrafloral pollination. However, no detailed phenological study has been carried out for A. hongkongense so far, it is still not sure if its pollination mechanism is like such case.

Odorrana livida

2008-11-24T19:05:00.008+08:00

Genus Odorrana is belonging to the family Ranidae which is comprised of 21 described species. Most of them occur in China where 16 can be found while the other 5 are in Japan. Odorrana livida is the most widespread species which is widely distributed in South-east Asia including India, China and Malaysia.

Recent study shows that Odorrana is most probably origniated at Mt. Hengduan and Plateau of western Yunnan where is the center of diversification of most fauna and flora. Odorrana is shown dispersing from the west to the east. Odorrana species occurring in the Southeast China, including O. livida, are more advanced within the genus.

Sarcococca longipetiolata

2008-11-22T20:48:00.005+08:00

Genus Sarcococca (Buxaceae)
A small genus comprises of about 20 species mainly distributed in Asia. 9 species can be found in China while 5 of them are endemic to China. S. longipetiolata is one of the endemic species which is narrowly distributed in Hong Kong, N. Guangdong and S. Hunan.

S. longipetiolata is a very rare species in Hong Kong that is restricted to Mount Parker on Hong Kong Island. It is therefore very susceptible to human disturbance or urban development.

It has no urgent need for conservation measure as it is located in the country park area where all wild plant species are protected by laws. However, visiting this rare species becomes a gimmick of some local eco-tours. Disclosure of the location of the species to the public might bring some unpreditable influence to it.

Birding in Long Valley, HK

2008-11-21T22:11:00.003+08:00

Red-billed Starling (Sturnus sericeus)

2008-11-16T18:05:00.003+08:00

Troops of Red-billed Starling flying around with loud noise are commonly seen in the winter in Hong Kong. They are believed to be winter visitors including passage migrants whose number reaches the peak during the first two weeks of November.

Pay attention if there is any other starlings mixing with the large flocks!

Impatiens hongkongensis

2008-11-12T22:07:00.005+08:00

Genus Impatiens L. (Balsaminaceae)
The largest genus in Balsaminaceae which produces spectacular flowers. It comprises of over 900 species all over the world and ranges from India to South-east Asia. 240 has been found in China where most of them are distributed in the south-western part of China.

Impatiens hongkongensis is mostly found in wet places by streams and in ravines. It produces pale yellow flowers which may attract people to collect them from the wild for ornamental uses. It is thus protected under Forestry Regulations and listed in Rare and Precious Plants of Hong Kong.

Flowers of I. hongkongensis are probably protandrous (Presentation of pollens come befores stigma becoming active) to prevent self-pollination. Bombus species (Bumble-bees) and hawk moths are most likely to be the pollinators. However, detailed pollination ecology of the plant has not been studied. Too little is known so far for this narrowly distributed species.

Vespa discolor

2008-11-10T23:16:00.011+08:00

Genus Vespa, also known as hornets, contains 22 species all over the world and eight (V. mandarinia is newly discovered) can be found in Hong Kong so far. They will construct their own colony comprises of a queen, males and workers. The nesting sites vary from one species to another and also intraspecifically.

Vespa discolor is one of the most common hornets in Hong Kong. This species is un-aggresive and will not attempt to attack deliberately unless too much disturbance is caused to their nests. It is a generalist hunter and scavenger which prey on any kind of insects which they are able to kill (A wandering glider Pantala flavescens is killed in the picture). The nesting period of V. discolor is quite long which reaches 9 months from colony initiation to disintegration.

Eria sinica

2008-11-10T17:21:00.007+08:00

Genus Eria Lindl. (Orchidaceae)
About 370 described species under the genus and they are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia. 43 species are in China including 6 in Hong Kong.

Eria sinica is one of the smallest orchids found in Hong Kong while the whole individual shown in the picture is just about 1 cm height. It is apparently very similar to another native orchid Eria pusilla. These two species were mixed up before due to their great similarity in Hong Kong. They are sometimes found to grow together on steep sides of boulders together with mosses. It's very difficult to spot them even when they are flowering.

Eria sinica has a narrow distribution where it is only found in or near Hong Kong and Hainan province. The type specimen is also collected from Hong Kong. Eria sinica and all other wild orchids are protected under Forestry regulations in Hong Kong. I do think that everyone should not harvest and take the wild orchids. Everyone should has the rights to appreciate the orchids and other rare plants in the wild. Orchids blooming in the wild are always the most spectacular BUT not at the garden!

Creobroter gemmata

2008-11-09T20:42:00.005+08:00

It is recently reported that a mantid (identified as Creobroter gemmata) was seen jumping into a stream and a horsehair worm emerged through its anus in Hong Kong. Mantids are the common hosts of horsehair worm (Nematomorpha) in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.

The horsehair worms copulate in its free-living stage and produce aquatic larvae. They are then actively ingested by other insects with aquatic larvae such as mosquitoe. They serve as vectors between the aquatic and terrestrial environment. The horsehair larvae continue their development if the insects are captured and eaten by mantids which are the final hosts of the worms. The worms then grow inside the mantids' abdomen and get maturity. They will then influence the hosts to approach water and emerge from the hosts. The factor influencing the hosts are still not understood.

Crested Mynah (Acridotheres cristatellus)

2008-11-07T21:48:00.003+08:00

Crested Mynah is distributed through central and southern China and it is a common resident occurring throughout Hong Kong. It mainly inhabits agricultural areas, around fish ponds, villages and urban areas.

Local birdwatchers have seen that Crested Mynah attempted to kleptoparasitise Chinese Pond Heron deliberately. (This is a common breeding habit of cuckoos)

It is very social which are typically seen in flocks. The highest count of the aggregation recorded in Hong Kong was 600 at Chek Lap Kok on 7th Oct 07 according to "The Avifauna of Hong Kong".

Sonerila cantonensis

2008-11-04T11:06:00.002+08:00

Genus Sonerila Roxb. (Melastomataceae)
Contains about 170 species distributed in tropical Asia. 12 are in the mainland where only one species are found in Hong Kong.

Though this species is described to be found in montane forest according to Flora of China, it is found at about 250 m a.s.l. in Hong Kong.

Commelina communis

2008-09-16T21:13:00.002+08:00

Genus Commelina Linn. (Commelinaceae)
About 100 species distributed all over the world where the majority is found in tropical and subtropical region. 7 species are distributed in China while 5 are in Hong Kong.

Commelina communis is the most widespread species in China within the genus.

Arisaema cordatum

2008-08-23T12:41:00.006+08:00

Genus Arisaema Mart. (Araceae)
ca. 150 spp. distributed mainly in the tropical, subtropical and temperate region in Asia. About 82 spp. can be found in China in which 59 spp. are endemic to China. Most of the Arisaema is found in Yunnan province where 40 spp. are in Yunnan. 4 species are distributed in Hong Kong.

Arisaema has an unique and interesting inflorescence which is like a pitfall-trap system. Arisaema always form a spathe tube and a spadix appendage which probably attracts the pollinators. Pollinators landing on the apadix appendage slide to the bottom of the tube because ablative wax cover both the inner surface of the tube and the surface of the apadix appendage. Pollinators entering male flower are able to escape from the tube at the hole located at the bottom of the spathe tube while pollinators (maybe carrying pollen grains) entering female flower are trapped as no hole is formed at the bottom of the tube. They walk around to find an exit, while depositing pollen grains on the stigma.

Arisaema cordatum is endemic to China and can only be found in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. It is narrowly distributed in Hong Kong where only two localities, Tai Mo Shan and Sunset Peak, are reported.

Marsdenia lachnostoma

2008-08-11T22:19:00.006+08:00

Genus Marsdenia R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae)
ca. 100 spp. distributed in the tropical regions in America, Africa and Asia. 22 spp. are distributed in China while only 1 species, Marsdenia lachnostoma, is found in Hong Kong. Marsdenia are mostly climbers where shrubs or subshrubs are rare.

Marsdenia lachnostoma is a rare species in China and Hong Kong. Its range is so narrow that it is only distributed in Hong Kong within China (It is also found in Cambodia, Laos and Tailand). Because of this, it is listed in the rare and precious plants of Hong Kong and catergorized as critically endangered in the China Red Plant Data Book. Furthermore, it is still not a common species in Hong Kong while it can only be found in a few localities such as Ma On Shan, Tung Lung Chau and High Junk Peak.

The common name of M. lachnostoma is called Hairy-throat Condorvine. It is because the throat of its flowers is covered by a very dense tuft of woolly hairs.

Cleome rutidosperma

2008-07-30T20:13:00.005+08:00

Genus Cleome (Capparaceae)
ca. 170 described spp. mainly distributed throughout the tropical and temperate regions. 6 spp. are found in China while most of them are exotic. Only 1 native Cleome species in Hong Kong which is C. viscosa.

Cleome is traditionally belonged to the family Capparaceae. Some recent studies suggested to include Capparaceae into Brassicaceae while some suggested to seperate Cleome to its own family Cleomaceae. Phylogeny of Capparaceae and Brassicaceae is still a hot topic for taxonomists.

Cleome rutidosperma is originated from west tropical Africa and now a common weed spreading in SE Asia, Sumatra and Java. It is a lowland ruderal (A plant growing in waste places) which can be found in the margin of farmlands in Hong Kong. It is a minor weed so far which does not affect agricultural practices.

In Sumatra, people is used to mix the seed of C. rutidosperma with tobacco to enhance it and squeezed juice of leaves is used as eye drop. Young leaves are also edible while they are boiled as food in the past.

Passiflora foetida

2008-07-29T23:12:00.002+08:00

Genus Passiflora (Passifloraceae)
ca. 350 spp. mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical America, rarely in Asia and Australia. 19 spp. in China and 2 spp. in Hong Kong.

"foetida" in Passiflora foetida means that the plant is fetid where some gardeners complain about it but some also reported that no odor is noted.

Passiflora foetida is a perennial herbaceous vine, as most of Passiflora species do, that originates from tropical America, but is now a pantropic weed. It is a common weed in many places of the Pacific and Atlantic, where it favors wet areas but also tolerates arid condition. It climbs over low vegetation on roadsides and in other disturbed places. It is now listed in the Global Invasive Species Database due to its invasive nature. Monitoring and management of this toxic plant (Some parts of the plants are toxic if ingested) is recommended in tropical areas where it is present.

It is widely cultivated in the world for medicinal and culinary purposes. The fruits are edible which has a sweet taste. They are readily eaten and dispersed by birds.

Bischofia polycarpa

2008-07-21T23:06:00.006+08:00

Genus Bischofia Bl. (Euphorbiaceae)
Consisted of only 2 species distributed from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia, Australia and Polynesia. Both B. polycarpa and B. javanica occur in China and cultivated in Hong Kong. It is an isolated genus in Euphorbiaceae without any morphologically similar neighbors.

It is commonly believed that simpler structure and development of reproductive organs in seed plants are an indication of evolutionary advancement. A Recent study suggested that B. javanica is more primitive than B. polycarpa because the former has a more complicated inflorescence.

B. polycarpa is not native to Hong Kong while the closest locality is in N. Guangdong. It is a good street tree as it is photophilous, thermophilous, drought-tolerate and resistant to wind. It is an economic timber tree for furnitures and other decorative materials. The fruits are also very attractive to birds.

Platysternon megacephalum

2008-07-19T16:43:00.006+08:00

Platysternon megacephalum (Plastysternidae), also known as Big-headed turtle, is a medium-sized terrapin distributed in SE Asia. It mainly inhabits hill and mountain streams with fast-flowing water. It is good at climbing using its strong claws and long, tough tail. It is primarily nocturnal but can also be found during daytime on rainy days.

Big-headed turtle is carnivorous which presumably feeds on fish, frogs and invertebrates that can be found in the streams. Breeding habits in the wild are largely unknown although it is a very well-known pet species worldwide.

It is originally a common species in South East Asia including South China and Hong Kong. But it is heavily caught and sold in the pet and food markets recently which are the major threats to the species. It has been listed as endangered in the IUCN redlist since 2000. The localities of the species should be enclosed in order to cease the harvesting of the wild individuals.

Kaloula pulchra pulchra

2008-07-18T22:30:00.004+08:00

Asian Painted Frog, Kaloula pulchra pulchra, is a common species ranged from much of South East Asia including Hong Kong. It is quite adaptable which is able to colonise the urban area and agricultural fields successfully while it is presumably originally a wetland/riverbank/forest edge species. It breeds in seasonal rain pools or ponds.

Asian Painted Frog acts like an ambush predator preying mainly on insects. It is able to expand itself when threatened and to secrete toxic substances from its body surface. It is also a tough species which survives in dry condition by burying itself in the ground and waiting for rain.

It is collected for consumption and pet trade (You can easily find a lot of caresheets for this speces in the internet) in many places in South East Asia but the threats to the species are not serious at this moment. It is listed as least concern in the 2007 IUCN redlist.

Gardenia jasminoides var. jasminoides

2008-07-17T18:27:00.003+08:00

Genus Gardenia Ellis (Rubiaceae)
ca. 250 species distributed in the tropics and subtropics; 5 spp. and 1 variety in China including 1 native sp. in Hong Kong.

Gardenia jasminoides is widely cultivated in the tropics and subtropics due to its ornamental and commercial uses. One of its uses is that the pulp of the fruits is used for coloring food yellow such as boiled beans, fish eggs, hot cakes, ices and noodles etc. Several parts of G. jasminoides are also used medicinally including roots, leaves and fruits.

It is a common and beautiful plant species in Hong Kong flowering from March to August.

Sphenomorphus indicus

2008-07-16T16:16:00.004+08:00

Sphenomorphus indicus and S. incognitus both occur in Hong Kong. They are very similar in appearance that S. incognitus collected in the past had been misidentified as S. indicus. There is only one clear-cut difference between the two species which is the presence of a patch of enlarged scales at the back of the thigh in S. incognitus. It seems that there is some different in habitat preference while S. incognitus prefers waterside but S. indicus is often encountered along forest paths.

S. indicus is distributed widely in South-east Asia including S. China, Bhutan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, India and west Malaysia.

Ferruginous Flycatcher (Muscicapa ferruginea)

2008-07-15T19:30:00.006+08:00

Genus Muscicapa (Muscicapidae) is a kind of old world flycatchers consisting about 25 spp. They are widespread along Europe, Africa and Asia. Most of them are migratory and they mostly prefer forest and woodland habitats. Muscicapa flycatchers mainly feed on flying insects which are caught by sallying out from an exposed perch. Other Muscicapa flycatchers occuring in Hong Kong include Asian Brown Flycatcher, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Dark-sided Flycatcher and Brown-breasted Flycatcher.

Ferruginous flycatcher (Muscicapa ferruginea) is a monotypic species which breeds from the Himalayas east to central and western China and Taiwan. It winters in Sumatra and the Philippines.

A scarce spring migrant with only a few autumn records in Hong Kong.

Camellia crapnelliana

2008-07-14T15:36:00.003+08:00

Genus Camellia L. (Theaceae)
An economically important genus providing valuable seed oil, tea and medicine. ca. 120 described species where most of them are in China (98 species including 13 spp. and 1 variety in Hong Kong).

Camellia crapnelliana was first collected from Mount Parker and described by W. J. Tutcher in 1903 (i.e. 克氏茶 in chinese). All Camellia species in Hong Kong are protected under Forestry Regulations Cap. 96A. C. crapnelliana is particularly rare which has also been listed as Vulnerable under IUCN red list and Rare and Precious Plants of Hong Kong.

The extracted seed oil is edible. It was introduced to Japan in 1968 but only a small number of plants have been cultivated because grafting on C.japonica or C.sasanqua is difficult.

Aster panduratus

2008-07-14T00:13:00.007+08:00

Genus Aster L. (Asteraceae)
A large genus but taxonomically unclear. The number of the species under Aster varies depending on different approaches, ranged from 250 to 1000. They are mainly distributed in Asia, Europe and North America; ca. 100 spp. in China including 5 in Hong Kong.

Asteraceae is the second largest family in the Division Magnoliophyta (Angiosperms), with over 20,000 described species. (The largest is Orchidaceae, with about 25,000 described species).
The "flower" of Asteraceae is actually an inflorescence (Capitulum), consisting two types of florets: ray and disc florets. The petals of ray florets attract the pollinators and provide landing platform to them.

Uvaria macrophylla

2008-07-11T03:25:00.007+08:00

Genus Uvaria L. (Annonaceae)
ca. 150 species distributed in the paleotropical region, i.e. Asia, Africa and North Australia;
10 native species in China including 4 in Hong Kong.

Flowers of U. macrophylla are protogynous (Bisexual but time sequence of presentation of pollen and stigma is seperated) which is a typical feature of Annonaceous flowers.
Smell fruity when matured.
A lovely colorful flower blooming in the summer!

Lagerstroemia speciosa

2008-07-10T22:45:00.004+08:00

Genus Lagerstroemia L. (Lythraceae)
ca. 55 species distributed in the tropical and subtropical region in Asia and Atlantic;
16 native species in China; 4 spp. (3 cultivated) in Hong Kong.

Lagerstroemia speciosa is a common ornamental tree in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian including Hong Kong. The seeds are very attractive to a local resident bird species, Grey-capped Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica).

Rubus reflexus

2008-07-10T19:44:00.005+08:00

Genus Rubus L. (Rosaceae)
A big genus, ca. 700 species in the world (208 in China including 8 in Hong Kong);
Especially abundant in the north temperate zone while some of them are in the tropics and southern hemisphere.

Aggregate fruit berry-like. Most are edible. A lot of Rubus spp. are cultivated for commercial use in the Europe and America.