Gesneriads II
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Chirita
is another East Asian Gesneriad closely related
to Henckelia.
This Thai Chirita is cloesly related to C. sericea but smaller and darker flower. It has very hirsute stem and leaves and is usually much smaller then C. sericea, flowering when its about 6 cm tall, although it can grow 3 times the height. |
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C. micromusa - meaning "little bananas", a reference to the many seed pods as seen in the photo. This plant has only one soft leaf about 10cm long sometimes accompanied by a vestigeal leaflet behind. It is a rather uncommon horticulture subject originating from Thailand - it requires a very moist environment as its leaves will shrivel when dry. |
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This
is a very interesting gesneriad (suspect Paraboea) collected from
central Johore growing on a steep shady slope beside the midsection of a
tall waterfall. After so many years, I can still recall how in the
middle of the arduous climb I was greeted by a population of these
plants all flowering en mass - it was breathtaking. Recently, I
was able to find anoher population of this plant near the same location,
but this time on very dry slopes near the edge of a disturbed forest.
Until now, the ID of this guy has eluded me. |
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Another unknown gesneriad photographed at Gua Charas, a lonely limestone outcrop at Panching, Pahang. |
