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Originally Posted by Bob
Great post Tog. Interesting observation about the reptiles at higher altitude exhibiting darker color for heat retention. The photos in your gallery have me jealous in cold New Jersey about now. It would be nice to climb nearby mountains on a tropical botanic expidition whenever I had time.
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Thanks Bob. About the reptiles, that used to be one of my main business in supplying live specimens to zoos and research. Quite a few species evolved to such a condition like the Boelon's python from PNG which is found at and above 10.000+ft asl. If you are ever in this region do come by and I can take you around looking at plants and such. Highlands are boring with basically, ferns, gingers and bamboos. Foothills are the greatest with high diversity especially in the southern region where it is generally wetter.
I wanted to highlight the Musa acuminata because it is the main progenitor of edible bananas and it looks like we have taken it for granted(especially me!). I will do another post soon of the Musa acuminata subsp malaccensis and show that it is actually quite a pretty plant which is worth cultivating. Though seeded, its fruits are very sweet and flavorful and the locals use it to make banana cakes. Will update soon.