Author: Kautham Sivabalan

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai admires a velvety forest vine with striking patterned leaves. Introducing, Velvetleaf pepper (Piper porphyrophyllum), a botanical beauty that adds drama to the understory.     On the shaded forest floor grows a plant that asks for little attention. Piper porphyrophyllum, the velvetleaf pepper, shows dark green leaves above…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai glances at a slender green snake moving like a vine among the branches. Introducing, Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina), a graceful hunter of the leafy heights.     A twig? Or just a dangling leaf? Look again. This is the forest’s master of disguise, Ahaetulla prasina, the Oriental…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai discovers a strange fungus rising quickly from the damp forest floor. Introducing, Stinkhorn fungi (Phallus sp), a dramatic decomposer with a scent as bold as its shape.     Far beneath my feet, emerges a friend so alien, so brief in its existence, it seems born from a…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai watches a dragonfly flicker over the water like a living dart of light. Introducing, Pepatung (Odonata), a swift aerial hunter that keeps the forest ponds buzzing with motion.       Since Si Pulai is away today, the stage is ours. We are dragonflies. Familiar faces, perhaps, but…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai spots a broad-leaved plant with bold foliage and a garden-forest presence. Introducing, Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia sp), a striking shade plant with a sharp name and a softer green face.     You might have seen this plant everywhere here, but they are not a part of us, natively. Dieffenbachia…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai notices a twining vine with a long history of healing and folklore. Introducing, Seruntun (Tinospora crispa), also known as Patawali, a bitter climber that winds through the forest like a green thread of memory.     Imagine a thread of life, not reaching for stars, but climbing through…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai meets a tiny underground worker that secretly shapes the forest floor beneath its roots. Introducing, Earthworm (Lumbricus sp.), the humble cacing tanah that keep the soil healthy from below.     One quiet morning, after a night of gentle rain, I felt something stir near my roots. A…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai sees a quick skink slipping across the sun-warmed path. Introducing, Many-lined sun skink (Eutropis multifasciata), a small reptile that keeps the forest floor lively.     Amid the leaf litter and the soft sunlight filtering onto the forest floor lives a companion that may seem ordinary, yet is…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai greets a tall forest tree known by its local name Penarahan (Horsfieldia superba), a deep-rooted native that belongs to the old woodland heartbeat.     “Your sap runs red again, old friend. Is it pain that makes you bleed?”   “Not pain, Si Pulai—but memory. This red sap…

Apa Cerita Pulai Hari Ini? Si Pulai notices a quiet living patch clinging to bark and stone. Introducing, Lichen, a tiny alliance that tells the story of clean air and patient growth.     Along the corners of the Pulai Trail, there exists a companion often overlooked: lichen. It is neither a plant nor an…