Ficus heteropleura, a common Borneo endemic fig of wet hill forest photographed at 500m on Bukit Silam. Bukit Silam is formed of ultrabasic soils with a high content of nickel and manganese resulting in a very specialized flora. In general the Ficus flora on ultramafic soils is much reduced compared with normal soils in Sabah and comprises a subset of the most common fig species with a couple of interesting exceptions. See Ficus tarrenifolia
All photographs by Linus Gokusing.
Bukit Silam is approx. 882 m high and due to the Massenerhebung effect has an area of stunted forest on the summit, normally only present on mountains over 2000m. The Chestnut-crested Yuhina Yuhina everetti normally only found on mountains in Borneo is present in the summit area. There is a 9 km road from the entrance gate to the Telecom Tower at approx. 700m where there is a viewing tower which overlooks the scenic islands in Darvel Bay. See this linkBukit Silam is an isolated hill with ultramafic soils high in manganese and nickel next to the coast in east Sabah. The ultramafic soil means that Bukit Silam is not suitable for agriculture and most of the unique forest is protected as a water catchment. Gunung Silam is around 20 minutes drive from the town of Lahad Datu in East Sabah. See the yellow circle on the map
