Hey CP-fans!
In April I had the chance to explore into the Sierra Madre range on the Philippine main island of Luzon. This region is very poorly known biologically, and rarely visited. After riding into the remote Casignan River valley on a rural jeep, the locals in Barangay Lipuga were really surprised to see the first foreign tourist that had found them ever...I got a warm welcome and a place to sleep in the new Barangay hall. The next day was spent on a 7.5 hours hike to the summit of Mount Bintuod (ca. 1935m asl), where we encountered a healthy population of N.ventricosa:
dry season toll
watching out of an emergent Dacrydium tree on the summit
Dendrobium yeageri was abundant in the mossy forest
view over the Casignan Valley and the Sierra Madre range towards north-east. Note deforestation and burning of the lower slopes.
I think Mt. Bintuod is the highest peak in this range, but cartographers seem to have neglected the Sierra Madre so nobody can tell for sure.
We climbed down the next day, taking a detour to see the ~30m Gumaniko waterfall:
Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana
and this is what I beleive a Grammatophyllum, can anybody tell more? Found growing on rocks on a dry ridge at around 800m
On the way out, I could also verify a roadside population of N.alata, with the typical looks of northern Luzon forms.
regards, Mathias