Orchids at Satok Flower Market

On every Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning when the weather is fine it's pleasant to be at the Satok flower market. The flower market exists only during the weekend when the shopping crowd gathers for the best bargain on food and other domestic essentials that are the prime appeal to the shopping experience here. And the flower market is just another delightful add- on to the shopping fiesta which originally started on Sundays but over the years has moved slightly forward due to popular demand. At the flower market new plants varieties are regularly showcased by nursery owners around Kuching. Today I was extremely impressed by the rich and spectacular collection of orchids available for sale. You can have a good idea of the many varieties by clicking the video below.( Note: The quality of the video may not be excellent. Guess it must be my nervous hands and too eager feet. Anyway , hope you'll enjoy it :))

Close up of 'Normah Orchid' above was taken at the Padawan Wild Orchids and Pitcher Plants Centre sometime ago.

A Visit to a Garden of Pitcher Plants and Wild Orchids

I went to this Pitcher Plant and Wild Orchids Garden, some 30 minutes drive from Kuching City center today. It is managed by a local municipal authority called Padawan Municipal Council. Entrance fees for adults is RM 2 and children RM 1, whereas for tourists RM 10.

The center covers a small area about an acre in size but is well shaded by gigantic trees including ferns . Note the many types of epiphytic plants especially ferns and scindapsus growing on the huge rain tree above.

These ferns are large called 'Paku Gajah'( angopteris evecta ) in the local Malay dialect to mean elephant fern.

The place was indeed shady and humid and only certain patches of the area was open and sunny to allow certain plants species of the warmer locations to thrive.

Pitchers are carnivorous plants that trick insects and small animals ( e.g. tiny frog) to go into the pitcher containing water and once drowned will be absorbed into the plant as food. The pitchers can come in various sizes,shapes and colours. Below are some that I mananged to shoot.

I find the above species very attractive. It is called the Nepenthes longifolia or commonly referred to as the tropical pitcher plant.

In the garden there are about 17 species that are native to Sarawak.

Wild Orchids

Mixed with the pitcher plants collection are a sizeable number of wild orchids of Sarawak/Borneo collection. ( Note: No cultivated or hybridised orchids are shown here as they are easily found in any orchids nursery in town).From the above picture two types of orchids that flowere well are the ones on the extreme left and right of the picture. A CU view of them are shown below.

Phalaenopsis violacea now named as 'Normah Orchid' in Sarawak . This species is highly scented.

Psychopsis species. This is an epiphytic orchid with a long stalk ( reaching a meter length) but bearing only a single flower.

In ensuing postings I will try to delve in more details of the other pitcher plants and wild orchids here.

The Bamboo Orchids of Sarawak, Borneo

Ever wondered how a bamboo orchid look like? Like a bamboo! Which is a tall grass.  Which is a reed. That's how the name came about. In Latin arundo means reed.  Because the stem of this wayside orchid is akin to that of the reed, it came to be known as the Bamboo Orchid.

Driving back to Bintulu from Kuching, a distance of 600 km last week and many many moons before that, I realise that the stretch between Sibu and Bintulu is the best area to find these orchids growing wild along the Sarawak highway.  I find them most endemic from Bintulu to Tatau where they grow in groups or clusters. The bamboo orchids are native to this part of the world but I understand that they are not found in the Philippines. 

Upon closer observation , I find that the flowers are much like the cattelya orchid though much smaller in size, mainly because the lip of its flowers are broad and the outer edge frilled..  The inflorescence is terminal and the flowers open in succession, one or two at a time. I find at many a gardens where they are grown in beds or clustered which is the best way to display its beauty. Best if you incorporate them in a rockery.  Requiring full sun and well drained friable soil there are plants that need little maintenence in our tropical garden. For this reason I choose this species as one of my kambatik garden plant favourite. Unfortunately the flowers do not last long, 3-4 days at the most. Other names of which this plant is called are: Arundinia speciosa, A. chinensis, A. densiflora and A. affinis.