Mount Kelam
Encyclopedia
Mount Kelam is an exposed granitic dome in West Kalimantan
, Borneo
, with an elevation of 1,002 m.
In 1894, German botanist Johannes Gottfried Hallier
became the second European to climb Mount Kemal, after a certain Dr. Gürtler. Hallier ascended the summit 5 times between January 30 and February 13. He wrote the following account of the mountain:
The mountain's summit area was relatively inaccessible in Hallier's time and remains so today. Hallier described it as follows:
Leptospermum
trees form a sparse canopy on the mountain's upper slopes, while grasses and Sphagnum
moss cover the ground. The critically endangered
pitcher plant
species Nepenthes clipeata
is endemic to Mount Kelam. Other Nepenthes
native to this mountain include N. albomarginata
, N. ampullaria
, N. rafflesiana
, and N. reinwardtiana
. However, habitat stresses such as droughts and forest fires (particularly those caused by the El Niño of 1997–1998) have destroyed much of the summit vegetation. The highly sought-after N. clipeata has additionally suffered from overcollection by plant hunters
and is now close to extinction in the wild
.
West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator....
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, with an elevation of 1,002 m.
In 1894, German botanist Johannes Gottfried Hallier
Johannes Gottfried Hallier
Johannes Gottfried Hallier was a German botanist who was a native of Jena.He studied botany and zoology at the University of Jena under Christian Ernst Stahl and Ernst Haeckel , and continued his studies at the University of Munich under Ludwig Radlkofer and Richard Hertwig...
became the second European to climb Mount Kemal, after a certain Dr. Gürtler. Hallier ascended the summit 5 times between January 30 and February 13. He wrote the following account of the mountain:
Mount K'lamm is a unique mountain of grand beauty. It rises singly and abruptly from a wide plane overgrown by young forest almost up to 1000 m above seal level and stretches approximately form west to east. Up to about half the mountain the steep slopes are covered with vigorous virgin forest, but the upper half is encompassed by mighty, almost vertical cliffs made of rock, over which water runs down in numerous gullies. Above the upper edge of the cliff there is high mountain vegetation compiled of bushes and small trees.
[translated from the original German in Pitcher Plants of the Old WorldPitcher Plants of the Old WorldPitcher Plants of the Old World is a two-volume monograph by Stewart McPherson on the pitcher plants of the genera Nepenthes and Cephalotus. It was published in May 2009 by Redfern Natural History Productions...
]
The mountain's summit area was relatively inaccessible in Hallier's time and remains so today. Hallier described it as follows:
After once again climbing a steep slope with GleicheniaGleicheniaGleichenia is a genus of ferns.Species include:* Gleichenia abscida Rodway* Gleichenia alpina R.Br.* Gleichenia dicarpa R.Br. – Pouched Coral Fern, Tangle Fern* Gleichenia mendellii S.B.Andrews...
thickets, one stands suddenly beneath the high enclosing rock wall of the mountain ring. The smooth water-washed stone seamed with water channels shows no variation in structure, and it appears almost as if the whole mountain was composed of a single monstrous block of rock. On this wall has been erected the steep 45 metre high rattan ladder; it is secured only at the bottom, in the middle and in the solid earth at the top, the rest lying free against the stone.
[translated from the original Dutch and German in Pitcher Plants of Borneo]
Leptospermum
Leptospermum
Leptospermum is a genus of about 80-86 species of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greatest diversity in the south of the continent; but one species extends to New Zealand, another to Malaysia, and L. recurvum is endemic to Malaysia.They...
trees form a sparse canopy on the mountain's upper slopes, while grasses and Sphagnum
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
moss cover the ground. The critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
species Nepenthes clipeata
Nepenthes clipeata
Nepenthes clipeata , or the Shield-Leaved Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant known only from the near-vertical granite cliff faces of Mount Kelam in Kalimantan, Borneo...
is endemic to Mount Kelam. Other Nepenthes
Nepenthes
The Nepenthes , popularly known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, are a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 130 species, numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids...
native to this mountain include N. albomarginata
Nepenthes albomarginata
Nepenthes albomarginata , the White-Collared Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant native to Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra...
, N. ampullaria
Nepenthes ampullaria
Nepenthes ampullaria , the Flask-Shaped Pitcher-Plant, is a very distinctive and widespread species of Nepenthes, present in Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, the Maluku Islands, and New Guinea...
, N. rafflesiana
Nepenthes rafflesiana
Nepenthes rafflesiana , or Raffles' Pitcher-Plant, is a species of pitcher plant. It has a very wide distribution covering Borneo, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore. Nepenthes rafflesiana is extremely variable with numerous forms and varieties described. In Borneo alone, there are at...
, and N. reinwardtiana
Nepenthes reinwardtiana
Nepenthes reinwardtiana , Reinwardt's Pitcher-Plant, is a Nepenthes species found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Although some sources have included Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore within the range of this species, these records appear to be erroneous.Nepenthes reinwardtiana has an...
. However, habitat stresses such as droughts and forest fires (particularly those caused by the El Niño of 1997–1998) have destroyed much of the summit vegetation. The highly sought-after N. clipeata has additionally suffered from overcollection by plant hunters
Plant collecting
Plant collecting involves procuring live or dried plant specimens, for the purposes of research, cultivation or as a hobby.-Collection of live specimens:...
and is now close to extinction in the wild
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
.