Phytgeopgraphically, Mt Kinabalu is an interesting place, and the
reasons for the diversity of plant life there are complex. It is a very
high and massive mountain, geographically isolated from peaks of similar
size in the Philipines and Iryan Jaya/Papua New Guinea. Large montains
are essentially islands and tend to evolve their own and distincive
flora (and fauna) over time, subtley (and not so subtlely) different to
neighbouring mountains.
The flora of tropical high mountains of Indonesia and PNG is complicated
by the geological history of moving land masses, they generally rapid
ascent from the sea floor (in geologic terms) and the historical
connections (in a plant dispersal sense) with both the southern and
northern hemispheres. There are taxa there (even at the species level)
that are typical of the southern mountains of Australia and New Zealand,
as well as a heap that you associate with the Asian Flora.
Tropical mountains have a diversity of habitat types that plant species
can evolve into, altitudinal range being one of them. They are also
relatively unstable environments, with eathquakes, landslides and other
distubances keeping the flora on its toes.
As for _Nepenthes_ and some of the orchids, maybe it is just chance that
some of the more spectacular, and from the human point of view,
attractive, species occur there. After all, if they grew all ober
Europe and north America, they would not be nearly as exciting, would
they?
jim
___________________________________________________________________________
Jim Croft [Herbarium CBG] internet: jrc@anbg.gov.au
Australian National Botanic Gardens voice: +61-6-2509 490
GPO Box 1777, Canberra, ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA fax: +61-6-2509 599
______Biodiversity Directorate, Australian Nature Conservation Agency______