Included here is the Malay Peninsula roughly south of the line between the Kedah River near Alor Setar on the west coast and Songkhlia on the east coast. The northern boundary therefore roughly crosses the border between Malaysia and Thailand.

Malayan Heath Montane Forest

Characteristic of nutrient poor, shallow podzols, these forests are largely confined to the plateaux of Endau-Rompin and G. Panti with small patches on dry quartzite ridges such as G. Jerai. In Endau-Rompin they consist of small trees (6-8 m tall) with small crowns. Among the most abundant ones are Cotylelobium lanceolatum, Gluta aptera, Leptospermum flavescens and Tristania merguensis. The ground vegetation largely consists of the endemic or near endemic Styphelia malayana (Ericaceae) together with ferns such as Dipterus conjugata, Gleichenia microphylla and Matonia pectinata mixed with Pandanus monotheca or Gahnia tristis. In some of the moister, open areas rattan such as Calamus holhumii and the endemic Calamus insignis var. insignis (Arecaceae) become more conspicuous. Also because of the low nutrient status of these forests there is a wealth plant species specializing in insectivory, myrmecophtism (ant-plant associations) and parasitism. These include insectivors like Nepanthes ampullaria, N. gracilis, and N. rafflessiana; myrmecophytes like Hydnophytum formicarium and Lecanopteris sinuosa and hemiparasites like Dendrotrophe umbellata and Macrosolen retusus. The environment also seems to encourage the develpment of tuber-forming epiphytes like Pachycentria maingayi.

Malayan Mossy Montane Forest

Small stands of mossy forest can be found, for example, in the hills below the northern and northeastern rim of the Pandang Tremambun Plateau where the aspect and altitude is conducive to mist formation, which after rain envelops the side of the plateau. The area, which is strewn with boulders, supports a spindly forest of Gluta aptera, Rhodamnia cinerea, Symplocos adenophylla, the endemic Arthrophyllum alternifolium (Araliaceae) and tree ferns (Cyathea). As expected most of the rocks, tree trunks and exposed roots are covered with mosses, liverworts and filmy ferns. Other epiphytes include Ficus deltoides and Schefflera subulata.

Malayan Ridge Forest

Forest dominated by Shorea curtisii are well developed on the ridges of G. Beremban and G. Besar. Other large trees include Anisoptera megistocarpa, Cotylelobium lanceolatum, Heritiera simplicifolia, Swintonia floribunda var. penangiana and the endemic Gluta curtisii (Anacardiaceae). Treelets such as Agrostistachys borneensis and Helicia rufescens often form gregarious stands. However, the ground vegetation is almost absent apart from a few scattered patches of Selaginella intermedia and the ferns Diplazium tomentosum and Taenitis blechnoides.

Malayan Palm Montane Forest

Forests dominated by the endemic palm Livistona endauensis (Arecaceae) are common on the ridges and sandstone plateaus of eastern Endau-Rompin. They can reach heights of 10 m and commonly include trees such as Gluta aptera, Shorea blumutensis, Tristania merguensis, and the endemic Anisophyllea curtisii (Rhizophoraceae). Other less common trees are Dacrydium beccarii, Erythroxylon cuneatum, Gordonia maingayi, Guioa bijuga, Knema patentinervia, Lophopetalum floribundum, Mangifera quadrifida, Memecylon pubescens, Xanthophyllum wrayi and the endemic Arthrophyllum alternifolium (Araliaceae). The undergrowth, however, is poorly developed consisting of a few shrub and herbs. Epiphytes are better represented. The crowns of Livistona palms, in particular, provide habitat for a number of epiphytes. The fern Oleadra pistillaris is the most common epiphytic species of these crowns but other include Embelia coriacea, Ficus deltoides, Schefflera subulata and various clubmosses such as Lycopodium dalhousianum, L nummularifolium and L. phlegmaria. Less common epiphytes is the normally ground-rooted climber Nepenthes rafflesiana and Gahia tristis, which is more normally found as a terrestrial herb.

References

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Leith, H. & Werger, M. J. A. 1989. Ecosystems of the World 14B - Tropical Rain Forests. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

Ridley, H. N. 1967. The flora of the Malay Peninsula. Volumes 1-5. L. Reeve & Co Ltd. London.

Steenis, C. G. G. J. van. 1957. Outline of the vegetation types in Indonesia and some adjacent regions. Proceedings of the Pacific Scientific Congress, 8: 61-97.

Whitmore, T. C. 1978. The forests ecosystems of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei: description, functioning and research needs. In: Tropical forest ecosystems. Natural Resources Research Vol. XIV. UNESCO.

Wong, K. M., Saw, L. G. & Kochummen, K. M. 1987. A survey of the forests of the Endau-Rompin area, Peninsular Malaysia: principle forest types and floristic notes. Malayan Nature Journal, 41: 125-144.