INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT :

PLANT / FLORA INVENTORY OF GUNUNG

BRINCHANG, CAMERON HIGHLANDS,
PAHANG

STUDENT’S NAME : AZEYLA BINTI AHMAD

MATRIX NUMBER : A 101871

DATE : 30TH JUNE 2006

SUPERVISORS : DR. LIAU TAI LEONG

: R.E.A.C.H. COMMITTEE
 CONTENTS

1.0 Acknowledgement 3

2.0 Organization Review 3

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Introduction 4

3.2 Aim of Study 5

3.3 Methodology 5

4.0 Review of Cameron Highlands

4.1General Review 6

4.2 Agro-tourism Review 6

4.3 Gunung Brinchang Review 6

5.0 Result and Discussion 7

6.0 Conclusion 10

7.0 References 10

Appendices

Appendix 1 12

Appendix 2 13

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1.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The idea of having a paper on plant/flora inventory of Gunung Brinchang is a start

to establish a nature information centre in Cameron Highlands. For that, I would like to
thank R.E.A.C.H. committee for their willingness to accept my application to do my 2
months Industrial Training here. I must also thanked, Prof. Madya Dr. Kamarudin Mat
Salleh, my supervisor from National University of Malaysia (UKM) for coming up with
the idea of attachment to R.E.A.C.H. and Mr. Balu Perumal who have been a great
advisor.
For the past days, the committee of R.E.A.C.H. has being my family. Their
kindness of providing us with many great informations and their hospitality are really
appreciated. Mr. Ramakrishnan Ramasamy A.M.N., R.E.A.C.H. President and Dr. Liau
Tai Leong (Vice President) have been great supervisors. Rev. Dr. Vijendra Daniel
(Secretary), Mr. Zulkifli Mohd Ariffin P.J.K. (Assistant Secretary), Mr. George
Alasandrie Theseira (Treasurer), Mrs. Laura Lau and Mr. Ramasamy (Cikgu Rama) have
shown a good example of “a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens that can
change the world”. Other members also played their role generously. Dr Cheam May
Choo who is a wonderful baker and Mr. Amran with his passion on photography, are
very supportive and ready to lend their hands whenever we need them. Mr. Kaliyannan
and his colleagues, Mr. Francis and Mr. Kumar are knowledgeable nature guides and
have helped me in many ways. Not to be left out is Dilip, who has been a wonderful and
helpful companion and Renata Fortuin, who is willing to share her knowledge with me.
Without you guys, the project would not succeed. Thank you again. My thanks also to
Dr.Gary William Theseira for his help in identifying some of the plants.

2.0 ORGANIZATION REVIEW

Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (R.E.A.C.H.) is a non-
profit, community-based organization that was formed by several residents of Cameron
Highlands who were concerned about the quality and quantity of their water supply and
the rate of development in the district. R.E.A.C.H. was formed after the shortage of water
supply in Cameron Highlands in the late 90s. R.E.A.C.H. was officially registered on 6th

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September 2001, with aims “to conserve Cameron Highlands as an area of natural
resources and as a natural heritage, a highland resort surrounded by permanent forest
reserve and sustainable agriculture with quality drinking water”.
The committee of R.E.A.C.H. has 14 main committee members and about 350
ordinary committee members. These members are all volunteers from different
backgrounds, but with the same goal. They are teachers and principals, doctors, nature
tour guides and businessman, to name a few. Some of their qualities are knowledge on
orchids, water, reforestation, ecology, education, hiking and photography. The committee
members are divided into five main sections, which are water resources, merchandise,
recycling, reforestation and exhibition.
Reforestation is one of the core activities of R.E.A.C.H. It involved not only the
committee but also corporate groups, school and college students and recently scouts
from Singapore. R.E.A.C.H. has an enormous photo collection on topics from beauty of
the highlands to the worst of it - environmental degradation. The recent exhibition,
“Cameron Highlands : Recollections” was held during the launching of the public library
by the Sultan of Pahang. They also conduct environmental monitoring and data collection
and documentation on orchids, ferns and birds. Another continuous activity is
environmental education, which consists of recycling talks, workshops on fern
identification and botanical illustration and also nature walk with explanation of ecology
concepts and water monitoring.

3.0 INTRODUCTION

3.1 Introduction

Malaysia is one of the 17 most diverse countries of the world. The other 16
countries are United State, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, South
Africa, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Madagascar, India, Indonesia, Australia, China, Philippines
and Papua New Guinea. Almost 60% of Malaysia’s land area is covered by natural
forest. From that, about 6.7% or 22,161 km2 is situated above 900m altitude. This is the
very essence of the country’s montane forest. Studies have shown that diversity of plants

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and animals is at its highest at the mid-montane altitudes. A smaller and much less
diverse group of plants and animals also are found in the cooler, moister montane forest
compared to the lowland rain forest. [Balu Perumal, 2001]

Basically, there are six main mountains in Cameron Highlands, which are Gunung
Brinchang, Gunung Irau, Gunung Jasar, Gunung Berembun, Gunung Perdah and Gunung
Mentigi. Cameron Highlands hosts more than 700 species of plants, from which 60% of
them are found only in the highlands. Of the total number, 145 species are endemic to
Cameron Highlands, with the orchids alone comprising 32 species. [Camerons National
Park Proposal]. Gunung Brinchang, at a height of 2,031m is the highest and surely holds
a high diversity of endemic plants. Unfortunately, there is still no inventory or database
of the plants, which can be found up there. As Cameron Highlands is facing many
environmental issues, this inventory is important for us to make sure our future
generation can still appreciate the plants of Gunung Brinchang. It is also the initiative of
R.E.A.C.H. to make the forests surrounding Gunung Brinchang into a National Park. The
inventory is a start to attract more people to come and do research on Gunung Brinchang,
and the montane forest in general.

3.2 Aim Of Study

3.2.1 To set up a plant/flora checklist for Gunung Brinchang.

3.2.2 To set up a library or database for R.E.A.C.H.’s future reference.
3.2.3 To attract researches and tourists as part of R.E.A.C.H.’s initiative
to establish a National Park in Cameron Highlands.
3.3 Methodology

3.3.1 Specimen collections (fieldwork) followed by plant labelling,

pressing and drying.
3.3.2 Photographs of specimens
3.3.3 Species identification
3.3.4 Database development for future work/references

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4.0 REVIEW OF CAMERON HIGHLANDS

4.1 General Review

Cameron Highlands is the smallest district of the state of Pahang, Malaysia and is
situated in the Main Range (Banjaran Titiwangsa). Other hill stations in the Main
Range are Fraser’s Hill and Genting Highlands, which are also famous tourist
attraction due to the cold weather. The Main Range contains the largest
continuous block of natural forest left in the peninsula. Over 25% of the country’s
total flora can be found here [WWFM, Duniaku, July/1995]. With 71,199.3 ha.,
Cameron Highlands is only 1.98% of the state. From about 400ft. to 6,666ft., this
district offers a variety of enchanting sceneries, which draws many tourists not
only from Malaysia but a lot of foreigners. The highest peak is Gunung Brinchang
at a height of 2,031m above sea level (a.s.l.) and also holds the highest accessible
road in Peninsular Malaysia. [EIA Cameron Highlands, 1995]. The main
economic source of the locals is agriculture.

4.2 Agro-tourism Of Cameron Highlands

Generally, Cameron Highlands is an agro-tourism area. The main economic

activity is farming and as a spin-off, agro-tourism developed. Most of the
vegetables and flowers here are of the temperate varieties, which are very rare in
the Tropics. To be exact, there are a few farms in the ecologically sensitive
Gunung Brinchang itself. The Mountain Strawberry Farm, Boh Tea Plantations
and vegetable farms not only act as a normal farm, but also attract local and
overseas tourist.

4.3 Gunung Brinchang Review

The forest formation of Gunung Brinchang can be classified into lower montane
forest and upper montane forest. At the height of about 1,200 m to 1,500 m a.s.l.,
the floristic zone of the lower montane forest is the oak-laurel with Fagaceae and
Lauraceae as the important groups, which are smaller than those can be found in
the lowland rainforest. As for the upper montane forest with elevation above

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 1,500 m a.s.l., Coniferae, Ericaceae, and Myrtaceae are the important groups.
Here, the montane forest consists of small trees with a canopy height of 10-15 m.
(Refer Fig. 1 in Appendix 1).

There are also other plants which may seem impossible to be in a tropical climate
country like Malaysia such as rhododendrons, magnolias, mosses, pitcher plants,
orchids and many other epiphytic plants. The higher the elevation, the shorter the
trees are and this is where mosses, orchids and other epiphytic plants increases in
number. The orchids and pitcher plants are listed in the 2004 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. The formation and vegetation of highland plants are affected
by certain factors. The low temperature of the highlands, lack of nutrients of the
soil and the acidity of the soil contribute to the small size of the plants.

In Cameron Highlands alone, there are 56 mammals, 199 birds, 58 reptiles and 14
amphibians recorded. [Camerons National Park Proposal].

5.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Below is the complete list of flora/plants at Gunung Brinchang according to their

family (including ferns).

FAMILY SPECIES
Actinidaceae Saurauia sp.
Saurauia sp.
Acanthaceae Asystasia cf. nemorum (Asystasia cf. intrusa)
Araceae Arisaema sp.
Araliaceae Schefflera sp.
Balanophoraceae Balanophora sp.
Balsaminaceae Impatiens oncidioides
Begoniaceae Begonia cf. sinuata
Campanulaceae Lobelia aff. angulata (Pratia aff. begoniifolia)

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Celastraceae Euonymus javanicus
Compositae Pluchea cf. indica
Convallariaceae (Liliaceae) Disporum cantoniense (Disporum pullum)
Davalliaceae (Fern) Davallia sp.
Ericaceae Rhododendron malayanus
Vaccinum aff. scortechinii
Gaultheria sp.
Euphorbiaceae Homalanthus populheus
Gesneriaceae Aeschynanthus longicalyx
Didysandra aff. filicina
Epithema cf. saxatile
Henkelia sp.
Gleicheniaceae (Fern) Dicranopteris sp.
Graminae Eriachne aff. pallescens
Hymenophyllaceae (Fern) Hymenophyllum sp.
Lauraceae Litsea pipericarpa
Lycopodiaceae (Fern) Lycopodium sp.
Melastomataceae Medinilla clarkei
Sonerilla rudis
Dissochaeta cf. celebica
Melastoma malabathricum
Merattiaceae (Fern) Angiopteris evecta
Moraceae Ficus sp.
Ficus sp.
Myrsinaceae Ardisia cf. colorata
Ardisia aff. crispa/crenata
Labisia pumila var. pumila
Nepenthaceae Nepenthes marcfalanei
Nepenthes senguniae
Oleandraceae (Fern) Nephrolepis sp.

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Orchidaceae Bulbophyllum sp.
Chelonistele sulphurea
Eria sp.
Platanthera angustata
Trichotosia sp.
Palmae Pinanga sp.
Passifloraceae Passiflora sp.
Piperaceae Piper ribesiodes
Polygalaceae Epirixanthes sp.
Polygonaceae Persicaria chinensis var. chinensis (Polygonum chinense)
Persicaria aff. chinensis var. ovalifolia (Polygonum aff.
malaicum)
Persicaria cf. barbata var. gracilis (Polygonum cf.
barbatum)
Rosaceae Rubus moluccanus
Rubiaceae Argostemma aff. spinulosum
Argostemma cf. yappii
Argostemma sp.
Hedyotis cf. insularis (Hedyotis cf. glabra)
Lasianthus cf. oblongus
Mycetia cf. malayana
Sterculiaceae Sterculia sp.
Verbenaceae Clerodendrum sp.
Zingiberaceae Camptandra latifolia
Geostachys megaphylla

From the list, there are approximately 37 families with 63 species of plant recorded. 9
species are recognized as endemic to Malaya (Refer Appendix 2). Geostachys
megaphylla is endemic to Cameron Highlands. The most dominant family is Rubiaceae
in which includes Argostemma aff. spinulosum, Argostemma cf. yappii, Argostemma sp.,
Hedyotis cf. insularis (Hedyotis cf. glabra), Lasianthus cf. oblongus and Mycetia cf.

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malayana. Camptandra latifolia is common. Apart from that, there are quite a number of
introduced plants. The most common species are Camellia sinensis, which is the tea
plants and also Fragaria sp., the strawberry plants, which are also important economic
plants.

Note the name in bracket is the old name of the species.

6.0 CONCLUSION

After all the hard works, a plant/flora inventory of Gunung Brinchang is made
possible, though there are still a lot of study and research to be done for a complete
inventory. The information needs to be updated as there might be slight changes to the
botanical names. As one of the more ecologically sensitive area of Cameron Highlands, a
lot of afford need to be done to ensure that Gunung Brinchang will remain untouched by
developments, hence preserving an area of pristine forest. Besides, it is one of the main
catchment areas, which supplies clean water to residents of Cameron Highlands and the
state too. Results of the basic study show the biodiversity richness of the flora of our
montane forest that need to be preserved due to their significant role in stabilizing the
ecosystem.

7.0 REFFERENCES
7.1 A.G. Piggott.1988.Fern of Malaysia in Colour.Tropical Press Sdn.Bhd.

7.2 E.J.H. Corner.1952.Wayside Trees of Malaya Vol.I & II. University

Lecturer in Botany, Cambridge.

7.3 M.R. Henderson.1954.Malayan Wild Flower Monocotyledon. The

Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.

7.4 M.R. Henderson. 1959. Malayan Wild Flower Dicotyledon. The Malayan
Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.

7.5 Earl of Cranbook & David S Edwards.1994.A Tropical Rainforest:The

Nature of Biodiversity in Borneo at Belalong, Brunei.

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 7.6 Turner, I.M. June 1995.A Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Malaya Vol.
47 (Part 1). National Parks Board, Singapore Botanic Gardens.

7.7 Turner, I.M. Dec 1995.A Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Malaya Vol.
47 (Part 2). National Parks Board, Singapore Botanic Gardens.

7.8 Antony van der Ent, Chantal Termeer.2005.Organization Review

R.E.A.C.H. Saxion University Deventer, The Netherlands.

7.9 Balu Perumal.2003.Ecology and Biodiversity Studies in the Lower

Montane Forests of Peninsular Malaysia.Faculty of Science and
Technology, UKM, Bangi.

APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Fig. 1 : Vegetation zones on the main mountains of Malaya

Appendix 2

Table 1 : List of endemic species to Malaya

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Appendix 1

Fig. 1

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 Appendix 2

FAMILY SPECIES

Balsaminaceae Impatiens oncidioides Ridl. ex Hook. f.

Gesneriaceae Aeschynanthus longicalyx Ridl.

Melastomataceae Medinilla clarkei King var. crassiramea

(M.R. Hend.) J.F. Maxwell

Sonerila rudis Stapf

Nepenthaceae Nepenthes macfarlanei Hemsl.

Nepenthes sanguinea Lindl.

Rubiaceae Argostemma yappii King

Zingiberaceae Camptandra latifolia Ridl.

Geostachys megaphylla Holttum

Table 1 : List of endemic species to Malaya

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