Chien C. Lee

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  • Unlike most staghorn ferns which hold their shield fronds in an open basket-like shape to collect falling leaf litter, this unusual species (Platycerium ridleyi) clasps its leaves entirely around the host tree branch. The secret lies within: it plays host to a colony of ants which live underneath the sheltering enclosure of the fronds. As with other myrmecophytes (ant-plants), this fern gains its nutrients from the detritus that the ants leave behind, and it is frequently found growing in groups in the same tree (in addition to other species of ant ferns) that are inhabited by the same extensive ant colony. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Matonia pectinata, a rare and primitive fern found on rocky and nutrient-poor mountain ridges. North Sumatra, Indonesia.
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  • Angola Staghorn Fern (Platycerium elephantotis). Kibale National Park, Kabarole, Uganda.
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  • Dipteris lobbiana, a primitive rheophytic fern.  Like many rheophytes, this plant has slender leaves which are not easily torn in rushing flood waters. Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • The genus Lecanopteris contains over a dozen species of epiphytic ferns, all of which are associated with ants (myrmecophytic). This species, L. mirabilis, which occurs in the Moluccas and New Guinea, has curious slug-like rhizomes which provide a sheltered space beneath for ants to live. The plant benefits from the presence of the ants because they deter herbivores and leave behind organic detritus. Halmahera, Indonesia.
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  • Platycerium madagascaeriense, one of the most bizarre endemic plants of Madagascar. Like other staghorn ferns, this species is strictly an epiphyte, growing among the canopy branches of tall trees. It is becoming increasingly rare and difficult to find in the wild because of widespread deforestation in the wet submontane forests of the east coast. The unusual ruffled texture of the shield fronds is probably an adaptation to allow passageways for ants to live underneath – a relationship that is mutually beneficial for both plant and insect. Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.
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  • Alpine grasslands with tree ferns (Cyathea tomentosissima) below Mount Trikora, the second highest peak in New Guinea
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  • Scarcely longer than an earthworm, this juvenile slug-eating snake (Pareas hamptoni) sleeps balanced on top of a fern frond. Many slug-eating snakes retain the  unusual asymmetric dentition of their snail-eating ancestors, an adaptation for pulling snails out of their shells via a process known as ‘mandibular walking’. Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam.
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  • Rhododendron caespitosum, the world's smallest species of Rhododendron, growing on the trunks of tree ferns (Cyathea tomtosissima). Lake Habbema, Highland Papua, Indonesia (New Guinea).
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  • Competition for mates can be fierce at choice breeding sites, especially when the season to raise young may be limited. Here, among the ferns over an ephemeral forest pool, a male Black-dotted Tree Frog (Litoria nigropunctata) (on the left) uses his hind legs to kick an amplexing rival male in an attempt to dislodge him from the back of the female. Papua, Indonesia (New Guinea).
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  • This miniature orchid (Bulbophyllum vanroyenii) grows on the trunks of tree ferns high in the alpine habitats of New Guinea's mountains.
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